Gaza protesters call on Palestinian leader to quit

Thousands of protesters in the Gaza Strip yesterday called on Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to resign after attempts to pressure his rival Hamas with financial cuts in the impoverished enclave.

"Leave!" yelled crowds made up mainly of supporters of Hamas and Mohammed Dahlan, an Abbas rival expelled from the president's Fatah party and who now lives in exile.

They called on the Palestinian Authority to pay the full salaries of public sector employees in Gaza, run by Islamist movement Hamas.

Abbas, 83, has over the course of recent months reduced salaries in the Gaza Strip.