Hamas did not reject a Qatari attempt to defuse a growing crisis in the Palestinian territories, a senior Hamas official said Tuesday, disputing a claim by the rival Fatah group that the Gulf state's initiative had failed.

Mohammed Nazal, a member of the militant group's Syria-based leadership, said Hamas only asked for amendments to the Qatari proposal, but did not reject it outright. He also accused Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of waging "a war of elimination" on Hamas, which holds top positions in the Palestinian government and a majority in parliament.

"They are not after moderating us - it is about wiping us out. It is a war of elimination," Nazal told The Associated Press. He spoke by telephone from another Arab country, but would not specify where.

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Qatar's foreign minister presented his country's six-point plan in separate meetings Monday with Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas member. The plan calls for a new Palestinian unity government that would recognize Israel's right to exist, and accept past accords and resolutions signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Earlier Tuesday, Abbas's Fatah faction pronounced the Qatari initiative a failure and blamed Hamas for the breakdown in negotiations. It appeared to be the latest setback to international efforts to moderate the Islamic militant group and restore much-needed aid to the Palestinians.

But Nazal said later that his group - the dominant faction in Palestinian politics - only asked for some changes to the Qatari proposal. He did not elaborate.

Egypt: Internal feud in PA ruining chance for peace
Egypt's foreign minister said Palestinians will lose a chance for peace if they continue infighting, a state-run newspaper reported Tuesday.

"The Palestinian situation is marred by sharp divisions and battling; it is a misery and shameful for any Arab and any Palestinian," Ahmed Abul Gheit was quoted as saying by the Al-Ahram newspaper.

"Those leaders and the Palestinian people will find out that they are losing a chance and a mobility that should have taken place and we lost it," he said.

Abul Gheit criticized the Hamas government of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, which is feuding with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, for rejecting an Arab peace initiative which recognize the state of Israel and endorses the land-for-peace principle.

"The Palestinian prime minister rejects this initiative; then why doesn't he search for another one?" Abul Gheit said, according to the interview.

He said the first step for reviving the peace process would be the release of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit - abducted by a Hamas-linked militant group on June 25 - in exchange for Israel freeing 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

But, he said, that won't be accomplished without "an internal Palestinian reconciliation."

The newspaper quoted him as saying that Egypt, during the last visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region, that the United States formulate a new version of the "road map" peace plan in which Washington would present its vision of an independent Palestinian state, then invite all other parties to hold negotiations based on this vision.

Haniyeh on Tuesday repeated Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel despite crippling Western sanctions which have bankrupted his government, led to strikes and demonstrations by public service workers and clashes between Hamas forces and police aligned with Fatah.

Haniyeh also said the main problem with the Arab peace plan, presented in 2002 by Saudi Arabia and endorsed by an Arab summit, is that it recognizes Israel in exchange for an Israeli pullout from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and Golan Heights.

Abbas may appoint an emergency government or call early elections after the latest efforts to form a unity coalition with Hamas failed, his aides said on Tuesday.

Qatari FM leaves Gaza after apparent deadlock in talks
Earlier Tuesday, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al Thani left the Gaza Strip after talks aimed at breaking a Hamas-Fatah deadlock ended without apparent progress.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, an aide to Abbas, said after the talks that the Qatari initiative had failed due to Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel and past agreements. He called the Qatari initiative is the "last political effort," adding, "the alternative is an early election."

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.

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.