Fighting between rival Palestinian factions escalated across Gaza on Friday, killing at least 17 people, as Hamas overran compounds used by President Mahmoud Abbas’s forces and two major universities were set ablaze. Violence erupted after the Islamist Hamas beat Fatah in a parliamentary election last year. Truces and talks on a unity coalition, which could persuade the West to restore aid it froze after the ballot, have so far failed but peace efforts were renewed on Friday. Full Story