51.   Another radical Palestinian faction headed by breakaway PLO Col. Munir Makdah said his guerrillas carried out the attack on the Dabsheh and Ali Taher hilltop positions.

52.   And in Damascus, Syria, a coalition of radical Palestinian factions condemned the peace deal on Monday and pledged to continue armed struggle against Israel.

53.   Arafat has been criticized by some Palestinian factions for having arrested militants, several of whom announced a hunger strike Friday.

54.   Another radical group, the Palestinian Salvation Front, an umbrella group for Palestinian dissident factions, has signaled it was ready to soften its opposition to peacemaking eforts.

55.   Arafat is believed to be trying to unify Palestinian factions before he begins negotiations with Israel on the final status of a Palestinian state.

56.   Arafat wants to unify Palestinian factions ahead of final-status talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

57.   Arafat, he said, also would meet with Damascus-based leaders of radical Palestinian factions.

58.   Attacks on civilians in Israel are counterproductive, Abdel Rahman said, adding that all Palestinian factions understood this view.

59.   But Hamas and the other Palestinian factions commemorate it in December.

60.   But the Lebanese government has opposed attempts by radical Palestinian factions to launch guerrilla attacks into Israel from Lebanese territory for fear of Israeli retaliation.