CAIRO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Saturday called on the Palestinians to stop infighting, the official news agency MENA reported.

    Mubarak said he was gravely concerned over the Palestinian infighting as well as abductions and incitement on the Palestinian territories, said MENA.

    He called on leaders and cadres of the Palestinian factions to respect the sanctity of the Palestinian blood and stop infighting.

    Mubarak also called on the Palestinian leaders to work together to assuage the suffering of the Palestinians and to meet their aspirations for an independent state.

    Earlier in the day, in the latest dispute between the two main Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared that the Hamas-controlled Auxiliary Forces in Gaza Strip were illegal and outlawed.

    But Abbas' statement was rejected by Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya, also a senior Hamas leader. Palestinian Interior Ministry even announced later that it would expand its Auxiliary Forces to 12,000 troops.

    In the last several days, militants from Hamas and Fatah have been engaged in a string of deadly clashes, which have left dozens of Palestinians dead.