(CNN) -- In the summer of 2007, two Palestinian groups -- Fatah and Hamas -- fought street battles in Gaza. Fatah, loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, was losing. And a U.S. diplomatic cable indicates that "desperate, disorganized, and demoralized" Fatah members appealed to Israel to attack their rival. The cable quotes the head of the Israeli Security Agency, Yuval Diskin, as telling U.S. diplomats, "They are approaching a zero-sum situation, and yet they ask us to attack Hamas." Diskin is also quoted as saying that Hamas had infiltrated Abbas' Presidential Guard and seized heavy machine guns. Fatah members quickly denied any approach had been made. Dimitri Diliani, a member of Fatah's revolutionary council, said such comments are part of a smear campaign carried out by Israel, which had never been asked "to address or to assist in any Palestinian national manner."WikiLeaks cable says "desperate" Fatah asked Israel to attack Hamas in 2007A Fatah official says the comment was part of an Israeli smear campaignHamas calls it "evidence regarding the involvement of Fatah with the occupation"
But he opposed arming _, saying, "They are not organized to ensure that the equipment that is transferred to them will reach the intended recipients."