Ismail Haniya, leader of Hamas and prime minister of the Palestinian unity government dismissed by President Abbas, has called for talks with Fatah. Haniya says that “the way out of the current situation is launching a Palestinian dialogue without pre-conditions.”

However, President Abbas of Fatah, who has accused Hamas of trying to assassinate him and carrying out a coup, has rejected the offer. Hamas denies these allegations as it was Abbas who was involved in a US-led plot to disband the democratically elected Hamas government. Prime Minister Haniya’s office said the talks should be held “on the basis of no loser and no winner, and on the basis of no harm to anyone, and on the basis of a national unity government.”

The United States and Israel want to isolate Hamas economically, diplomatically and militarily in the Gaza Strip, where armed factional clashes left the group in complete control just over a week ago.

At the same time, the US and Israel want to bolster the emergency government set up by Abbas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank after he dismissed the unity cabinet led by Hamas.

Hamas won parliamentary elections 18 months ago, but its government was shunned and heavily sanctioned by Israel and Western powers for refusing to renounce a right to violence against Israel and officially recognise the Jewish state.

President Abbas will be meeting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Egypt tomorrow, along with Egyptian and Jordanian leaders, to discuss prospects for resuming the peace talks which have been stalled for seven years. Israel has also agreed to transfer a portion of the millions of Palestinian dollars, withheld since Hamas came to power in the 2006 election, to Abbas’ new government.

Hamas has not been invited to the meeting at the Red Sea resort. Prime Minister Haniya insists that Fatah can not exclude the legitimate Palestinian government while determining the fate of the Palestinian people.

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