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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: January 11, 2007 |
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In a show of strength against Hamas, President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement staged a large anniversary rally Thursday, but Abbas aides said the moderate Palestinian leader would also give coalition talks with the Islamic militant group another chance.
Thousands of Fatah supporters waving the movement's yellow flags streamed into Abbas walled headquarters in the city of Ramallah. Many were bused from across the West Bank, with organizers hoping to mirror a Fatah rally that drew tens of thousands in the Gaza Strip last week. Abbas was to address the crowd at his Ramallah headquarters, and police lined the access roads to the walled compound.
Negotiations on bringing Fatah into the Hamas-led Cabinet are to resume soon and continue for two weeks, said Rafiq Husseini, a senior Abbas aide. If the talks fail, he said, Abbas would proceed with his plan to call early elections. Abbas insists the militant Hamas must soften its positions so the program of the new coalition will be acceptable to the international community and help end a 10-month international economic boycott.
The international community has demanded that Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction, recognize the Jewish state's right to exist, renounce violence and accept past agreements with Israel. Hamas, which won parliamentary elections last year, has refused. Abbas was elected separately two years ago.
Hamas is going into the talks with a revised agenda, including a demand that the current prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, remain in the job, said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. In the previous round of talks, Haniyeh had agreed in principle to step down and let an independent be appointed in his place.
It was not immediately clear whether Abbas would agree to have a Hamas politician lead the new coalition, but he and Haniyeh get along well.
Abbas' decision to resume talks with Hamas comes after several weeks of bloody Hamas-Fatah fighting that left 35 people dead, most in Gaza. It also followed angry exchanges between the two sides, with Hamas accusing Abbas of trying to overthrow the government with his call for new elections. |
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