A Palestinian minister accused the Israeli government of using illegal chemical weapons in the occupied territories.
"Analyses carried out in laboratories outside Palestine have shown that Israel has had recourse to banned chemical weapons and depleted uranium" in the Palestinian territories, environment minister Yussef Abu Sofia told reporters in Algiers Wednesday on the sidelines of a conference of Arab environment ministers.
Depleted uranium (DU), which is used for armor-piercing bullets or shells, is an extremely dense and hard metal that can cause chemical poisoning to the body, according to the Campaign Against Depleted Uranium Web site.
Abu Sofia also accused Israel of polluting large underground reserves of water with dangerous chemicals.
Israel "transported major quantities of dangerous chemical products into the interior of the Palestinian territories thereby seriously polluting the water table," he said.
"The destruction of the environment by the Israeli occupation forces continues."
Citing figures from the Palestinian agriculture and environment ministry, Abu Safia said: "two million trees have been uprooted (by the Israelis) in the past six years, half a million of them olive trees."
Israel also rejected requests by the United Nations Environment Program and the International Atomic Energy Agency to examine the terrible situation in the Palestinian territories, he said.
"The situation in the territories has deteriorated after the building of the 'separation wall' (which is being erected in the occupied West Bank), after the destruction of a considerable number of wells and because of the serious effects on fauna and flora and assaults on biological diversity, which includes 3,500 animals and vegetable species in the Palestinian territories," Abu Safia added.
Gaza truce holds for second day
A fragile ceasefire aimed at ending street clashes between Fatah and Hamas supporters held in Gaza for a second day.
No fighting has been reported since early Wednesday, when the two rival Palestinian parties withdrew their forces from Gaza's streets.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas demanded all Palestinian groups to honor the truce on Thursday.
"I call upon my people to show responsibility and work to consolidate the calm in the Gaza Strip," he told a press conference in Ramallah. "I'm convinced that everybody wants security and civil peace."
Abbas also said that he was still open to forming a national unity government with the ruling Hamas party, despite his call for early elections on Saturday - a move that was rejected by Hamas and sparked four days of factional fighting that killed at least 13 people and wounded dozens.
However, Abbas' spokesman said there were no preparations for a new round of talks between Abbas' Fatah party and Hamas.
"We are insisting on the need for dialogue, but no preparation is under way for a new round of dialogue," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.
A Hamas spokesman also said that his group prefers dialogue.
"There is no alternative to dialogue to form a unity government," Ghazi Hamad told AFP.
Hamad also said that Prime Minister Ismael Haniya was ready to meet with President Abbas in Jordan, as suggested earlier in the week by King Abdullah.
"We have not received an official invitation. If such an invitation is sent to us, we will accept," he said.
The latest ceasefire announced by Abbas and Haniya late Tuesday -- after a previous truce held barely for 24 hours -- came after the Palestinian President spoke by phone with King Abdullah.
Abbas, who said he was prepared to "respond favorably" to King Abdullah's invitation, was due to travel to Jordan on Sunday.
The Palestinian President said he called for early elections in an attempt to end months of political deadlock following the collapse of talks on forming a coalition government with Hamas, which has been struggling in government amid a Western aid embargo designed to pressure it to recognize Israel.
AJP and Agencies
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