By Mohammed Assadi RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction rallied in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, a show of strength in a violent rivalry with the governing Hamas group. Speaking to the crowd in forceful but conciliatory tones, Abbas appealed for an end to violence between Fatah and Hamas and rebuked armed supporters who showed their backing for the moderate leader by pumping bullets into the sky. "Gunfire into the air is rejected. Gunfire against the friend, the neighbour and members of other factions is rejected too," Abbas said. Militants from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of Fatah, ignored his call to cease fire at the rally, keeping up their salvoes above demonstrators' heads during Abbas's speech and after he concluded the address. Fatah and Hamas, which defeated the long-dominant faction in an election a year ago, have been locked in a bloody power struggle that some Palestinians fear could spark civil war. The internal fighting has worsened since Abbas called last month for early elections to break a political deadlock with Hamas. "We have raised our rifles against the occupation and that is a legitimate right," Abbas said, referring to Israel. "But it is forbidden to raise rifles against one another." Marking the 42nd anniversary of Fatah, thousands of supporters attended the rally, some bused into Ramallah at the faction's expense. A Fatah gathering of tens of thousands was held on Sunday in Gaza, a Hamas stronghold. "This is a message for all those who believe Fatah is weak," Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Fatah official, said at the Ramallah rally. "Fatah is ready to go to early parliamentary and presidential elections." Abbas said he was sticking to his call for early elections following inconclusive talks with Hamas on forming a unity government. If Hamas opposed the idea of a new ballot, he said, it should do so in Palestinian courts and not through street fighting. Western governments want Abbas to triumph over Hamas, which the United States and Israel regard as a terrorist group. The Bush administration will provide $86 million to strengthen security forces loyal to Abbas, according to documents seen by Reuters on Friday. (Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah)
