Palestinians agree to form committee on violence

The rival Hamas and Fatah groups agreed Friday to form a committee to iron out differences in an effort to avoid further clashes between the sides, officials said. The sides were meeting in a second day in an effort end fighting that has claimed 10 lives in the Gaza Strip over the past week. Earlier Friday, the Hamas government withdrew a militia from the streets of Gaza in an apparent sign it was pulling back from the confrontation with security forces loyal to Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah.