Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al Thani left the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after talks aimed at breaking a Hamas-Fatah deadlock ended without apparent progress, Israel Radio reported.

The Qatari foreign minister told reporters after the talks Monday that his country's six-point plan for a Palestinian unity government was the center of the discussion, but that there was still no agreement on the core issue of recognition of Israel.

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Al-Thani said that there were differences between the local Hamas leadership and its counterparts based in Damascus, but he gave no details.

The Qatari foreign minister held talks in Syria on Thursday with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, viewed as the key proponent of Hamas' opposition to recognizing Israel.

The six-point plan, presented on Monday, is aimed at solving the ongoing internal feud in the Palestinian territories and renewing ties between the international community and the ruling Hamas party.

Al-Thani held separate meetings with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza Monday evening, after hopes for a three-way meeting faltered.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, an aide to Abbas, said after the talks that agreement was not close "on the core issues." He said the Qatari initiative is the "last political effort," and if it fails, "the alternative is an early election."

After meeting with the Qatari mediator, Abbas told reporters, "the Qatari initiative has not failed," and said the process of finding a solution to the crisis was ongoing. The PA chairman refused to detail the Qatari initiative, however, saying, "The dialogue began on the basis of the Qatari mediation... Nothing has failed. We are on the path and therefore it cannot be said that something failed."

Palestinian politicians said the proposals included forming a "technocratic government" and a meeting between Abbas and Meshal.

"There is a Qatari initiative on the table to narrow Palestinian differences. We cannot discuss the details, but Hamas is committed to a national unity government," Izzat Mohammad Rishq, a high-level Hamas member, told Reuters.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar said that the new proposal "does not violate national Palestinian principles," suggesting that Hamas is prepared to accept the Qatari initiative.

Zahar told the Palestinian news agency Ramtan that senior Syrian officials had also participated in discussions of the Qatari proposal.

"The decisions in Hamas are made in Damascus, not Gaza," Palestinian sources said.

The key obstacles to the formation of a government have been Hamas' refusal to participate in any administration that recognizes Israel and to renounce armed struggle against it.

The chair of Fatah's parliamentary faction, Azzam al-Ahmed, emphasized to Haaretz on Monday that Abbas is committed to the six-point document that was agreed upon with Qatar. "Abbas declared that a week ago, and he does not intend to change his position," Ahmed said. "We are waiting for an answer from Hamas."

After the Qatari minister's meeting with Meshal in Damascus, it was reported that Hamas would respond to the proposal in a few days.

Egyptian officials announced Monday that Palestinian Interior Minister Saeed Seyam had arrived for a visit. Seyam left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing and traveled to Cairo. Egyptian efforts to end the violent Palestinian standoff have not been successful, primarily because of Egypt's inability to pressure Hamas leaders residing in Damascus.

Former Palestinian minister Ghasan al-Hatib told Haaretz that Qatar is in a better position to mediate thanks to its good relations with Fatah and Hamas. "Hamas leaders come and go in Doha, and there are Hamas people who are there permanently. Qatar also has good relations with the heads of the PA," he said.

Deadly clashes between Fatah and Hamas erupted last week after talks on a unity government broke down. Abbas blamed the breakdown on Hamas' intransigence over the recognition of Israel.

Abbas has agreed to the Qatari plan. Al-Thani also presented the plan to Meshal, but Hamas' position on the matter is not yet clear.

Palestinian sources have said Meshal has agreed to the plan in principle and that Abbas has sent a representative to Meshal to finalize the details. However, senior Hamas officials in Gaza told Haaretz that Hamas had not agreed to the plan.

According to the Qatari plan, the Palestinian unity government will in effect accept the conditions that Israel and the international community have imposed - recognition of Israel and agreements made with Israel, and an end to violence - which will allow for the renewal of peace talks.

The Palestinian government envisioned in the plan will be headed by an independent figure that is not aligned with any Palestinian faction, and will include ministers from Hamas, Fatah and other factions, as well as those not affiliated with any party.

The Qatari plan also calls for a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a two-state solution and a mutual and simultaneous cessation of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians.

According to the plan, the government will recognize agreements signed and commitments made by the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hamas will join PLO institutions in accordance with the 2005 Cairo agreement, and the new version of the Palestinian National Council will meet within a year. In addition, the plan calls for Shalit to be released as part of a prisoner-exchange deal.