Palestinians urged to hold fire during Gaza pullout

"The withdrawal must take place in a responsible manner," the Palestinian Authority president said in a keynote speech at the parliament eight days ahead of the scheduled start of the pullout.

"This is a shared responsibility, not just of the Palestinian Authority but the responsibility of all our people to maintain security in a civilised manner so we can reassure the world and send out a message that we deserve our state."

Abbas, who has been a consistent critic of the armed Palestinian uprising, reiterated appeals for hardline factions such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad to refrain from firing rockets during and after the pullout.

"This must stop so that we can focus on security and economy," Abbas said. "When the occupation is lifted, weapons should no longer be seen on the streets."

Despite a de-facto truce agreement, some militants have continued to fire home-made rockets on Israeli targets outside Gaza.

Israeli officials have said they will not hesitate to interrupt the pullout operation to respond to attacks from militants and warned of the risk of civilian casualties.

Israel is due to uproot the 8,000 settlers from Gaza and several hundred residents living in four northern West Bank settlements from August 17, the first time it has ever withdrawn from occupied Palestinian territory.

While the Palestinians have welcomed the prospect of an Israeli withdrawal from any parts of the occupied territories, they are also wary that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will try and use the Gaza pullout to enable him to keep hold of large West Bank settlement blocs.

Abbas said that he had raised these fears during a summit meeting with US President George W. Bush in May.

"Mr Bush listened to us ... and said that any change to the borders should be done as a result of an agreement between the two sides."