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Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas waving to supporters as he left his Gaza home Tuesday for a summit with Fatah leaders in Mecca. (Reuters)
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Abbas, Meshal meet in effort to curb factional violence
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent

Senior Hamas and Fatah officials met Tuesday evening in Saudi Arabia for talks on curbing months of factional violence in the Gaza Strip which has left dozens killed and scores more wounded.

As the Palestinian leaders met in the port city of Jeddah, gunbattles continued in central Gaza, leaving a Hamas militant dead and three others wounded.

The local Dormish clan claimed responsibility for the attack and said the Hamas commander was responsible for the killing of two family members in December. A Fatah spokesman denied any involvement in the shooting.

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Earlier Tuesday, Hamas militants kidnapped a Fatah man and his three bodyguards from the northern Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his Hamas rivals landed in Saudi Arabia Tuesday afternoon for talks to end the fighting, which an envoy said had created a "catastrophic" situation.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas vowed that "every effort" would be made to reach a unity government agreement at the summit in Mecca.

"We promise our people that we will do all we can and will exert every effort in order to reach a Palestinian agreement over the formation of a unity government," Haniyeh said.

Speaking on Tuesday as he headed for Gaza's border with Egypt, from where he was due to take a flight to Saudi Arabia, Haniyeh said he was optimistic leaders would return with a deal "that will heal the wounds, end tensions and reinforce national unity."

But the infighting continued even as Hanieyh left Gaza for his flight to Saudi Arabia from Egypt, with witnesses reporting that Hamas and Fatah security officials traded fire as the prime minister crossed the border.

Haniyeh, who was in a VIP hall and not in the immediate area of the firefight, entered Egypt unharmed, they said. No injuries were reported from the 10-minute shootout.

Before Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas left for the talks, he warned that failure in Mecca would give a green light to civil war, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported.

"Failure would mean the deterioration of the internal situation and igniting civil war," the paper quoted him as saying. "The word 'failure' is forbidden."

The Saudis are pointedly convening the talks at a guest palace of King Abdullah that overlooks the Kaaba, the black-draped cubic shrine toward which all Muslims turn when they pray.

King Abdullah made clear he hoped the setting would have an influence in a statement Tuesday to the Palestinian community in Saudi Arabia.

"I hope that the Palestinian brothers hear your demand, and that they will not leave the sacred land without a commitment before God to stop fighting and bloodshed," the king said.

Mutual optimism
But both Fatah and Hamas leaders were optimistic Monday that the Mecca talks would result in an agreement.

Sources close to Abbas told Haaretz on Monday night that the summit is likely to end in a deal on the formation of a Palestinian unity government.

Both sides can afford to sound optimistic, following several weeks of bloody factional fighting in the Gaza Strip, thanks to productive preliminary meetings between mediators working with both Fatah and Hamas. In recent weeks, differences between the two groups have narrowed and a series of understandings have been reached between Abbas and Meshal.

As Haaretz reported, both sides agreed that Haniyeh would remain as prime minister of the unity government, with Salem Fayad serving as both his deputy and minister of finance.

Ziad Abu Amar will become the foreign minister, with the highly contested post of interior minister going to one of a list of independent candidates Hamas will present to Abbas to choose from.

In addition to the three senior ministers not affiliated with either group, the unity government will include nine Hamas ministers - in addition to Haniyeh, six ministers from Fatah, three other independent ministers, and four other ministers that will represent the smaller Palestinian factions, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Hamas is not guaranteed a majority in such a cabinet.

The Fatah delegation left for Saudi Arabia on Monday night. In addition to Abbas, it includes the Fatah strongman in the Gaza Strip, Mohammed Dahlan, a figure specifically opposed by Hamas, who tried to convince the Saudi hosts to deny him a place in the gathering.

Saudi Arabia made it clear to Hamas that it could not intervene in the makeup of the Fatah delegation, Palestinian sources said.

In addition to Meshal and Haniyeh, the Hamas delegation also includes Mahmoud al-Zahar, the current government's prime minister, and senior figures of the Hamas leadership abroad.

During the two days of the summit, the site where the delegations will stay and hold their meetings will remain off-limits to the press.

Meanwhile, in Ramallah, Fatah's Revolutionary Council announced that it was suspending its meetings this week in view of the summit in Mecca. However, the council warned that if the talks fail, it will resume its meetings, which are dealing with Abbas' threat to hold early elections unless a unity government is established.
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  1.   Unity likely? a nechtiger tog! 01:32  |  Uzi 06/02/07
  2.   Governement on probation 01:50  |  Swiss (Dino) 06/02/07
  3.   Abbas, the Moderate 02:19  |  Dr. David 06/02/07
  4.   # 1 02:56  |  AMERICAN MAN 06/02/07
  5.   Ok, but I wont hold my breath 03:03  |  David G 06/02/07
  6.   saudi pressure 03:22  |  real vision 06/02/07
  7.   Taking A Breather 03:33  |  Tony Anthony 06/02/07
  8.   There will be a Unity Government 03:59  |  Fortuna 06/02/07
  9.   Very good news for the peace process 04:10  |  Tosefta 06/02/07
  10.   # 6 real vision 04:45  |  Lynn 06/02/07
  11.   #5 David G 05:11  |  Johnboy 06/02/07
  12.   Interesting, But... 05:14  |  Jeff Northridge 06/02/07
  13.   United They Fall, Divided They Fall! 05:31  |  Lavi 06/02/07
  14.   This is main headline of "palestinian" propaganda news 06:28  |  MK 06/02/07
  15.   does this mean that...? 06:32  |  MLK 06/02/07
  16.   No US aid, if Fatah is going to side with Hamas. 06:35  |  Devin 06/02/07
  17.   Unity Government... 06:36  |  Willy 06/02/07
  18.   Johnboy 06:43  |  Willy 06/02/07
  19.   TWO-PRONG STRATEGY 07:23  |  indrajaya 06/02/07
  20.   I am glad Hamas will be the winner in this conflict 08:18  |  Edward 06/02/07
  21.   #20 Edward,you shouldn`t be glad 08:31  |  Hastaroth 06/02/07
  22.   Israeli Jewish Extremism 08:53  |  Proud Arab 06/02/07
  23.   Re: Proud Arab who thinks "how extreme the jews and israelis are" 09:17  |  Vittorio 06/02/07
  24.   Any "unity government" that does not accept Israel`s right to ... 09:36  |  Nadav 06/02/07
  25.   A Matter of Time 09:37  |  Clickfool 06/02/07
  26.   Oh well 09:48  |  Colin Wright 06/02/07
  27.   The criminal bosses decided to form "government" 09:58  |  Shlomo from Tel-Aviv 06/02/07
  28.   re #22 `Israeli Jewish Extremist` 10:04  |  Colin Wright 06/02/07
  29.   to Johnboy 10:08  |  David G 06/02/07
  30.   Re no 16 `No US aid...` 10:10  |  Colin Wright 06/02/07
  31.   Tosefta #9 "They can" 10:14  |  FOX 06/02/07
  32.   Indrajaya, up to his neck 10:18  |  FOX 06/02/07
  33.   Revenge! 10:24  |  FOX 06/02/07
  34.   unity 10:29  |  isiaiah 06/02/07
  35.   #9 - there is no peace process ! 10:31  |  redmike 06/02/07
  36.   Clickfool, an agent for the Mossad? 10:48  |  FOX 06/02/07
  37.   # 20 Edward 10:55  |  Josef 06/02/07
  38.   Haaretz - is this newsworthy?? Long article in Arutz 7 10:57  |  Ron 06/02/07
  39.   MILK, @15, you are dreaming 11:33  |  vladimir 06/02/07
  40.   and WHAT NEXT? 11:35  |  Yevhen 06/02/07
  41.   Sucsess 11:39  |  Choni Davidowitz 06/02/07
  42.   #9, "Israel is real" 11:40  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 06/02/07
  43.   #41 Choni Davidowitz 11:57  |  Yevhen 06/02/07
  44.   COL:IN WRIGHT How human are the descendents of pigs and monkeys? 12:03  |  PETER SM 06/02/07
  45.   #2 THE SWISS JESTER AGAIN !! THEY ARE JUST ARABS 12:12  |  paul harris 06/02/07
  46.   The real determinant of peace ... 12:24  |  Dan 06/02/07
  47.   Welcome to Wahhabi / Terror Central 12:50  |  Klaudia 06/02/07
  48.   The Shadow Govt. Steps Onto the Stage 13:10  |  Klaudia 06/02/07
  49.   proud arab 13:10  |  ben levy 06/02/07
  50.   re: Cipora #42 13:23  |  Paulo 06/02/07
  51.   Proud Arab 13:26  |  Lynn 06/02/07
  52.   After 911 13:29  |  Klaudia 06/02/07
  53.   # 20 Dear Edward 13:31  |  Lynn 06/02/07
  54.   # 41 No money 13:38  |  Lynn 06/02/07
  55.   # 42 Cipora 13:42  |  Lynn 06/02/07
  56.   Paulo continues to spread his venom, the man 13:47  |  Anat 06/02/07
  57.   Arabia and Israel 13:49  |  Peter N. Wynn 06/02/07
  58.   # 52 Klaudia 13:53  |  Lynn 06/02/07
  59.   Saudis are Trying to Destroy Tolerant Indonesian Islam 14:22  |  Klaudia 06/02/07
  60.   #46 - you lost the plot - the Palestinians don`t want peace . 14:49  |  redmike 06/02/07
  61.   peace OSLO STYLE ?? been there GOT THE T SHIRT 15:32  |  paul harris 06/02/07
  62.   Democratic Political Wings can share seats in GOVN. 15:43  |  Vittorio 06/02/07
  63.   re: Anat #56 15:45  |  Paulo 06/02/07
  64.   re: Paul #45 15:49  |  Paulo 06/02/07
  65.   Haniyeh. 16:13  |  David Nigel Braham 06/02/07
  66.   a Palestinian unity government will not uphold 16:17  |  Zev 06/02/07
  67.   FAIT ACCOMPLI? 16:30  |  Brant 06/02/07
  68.   On his way 17:14  |  even 06/02/07
  69.   Arabia and Israel 17:15  |  Sam 06/02/07
  70.   The peace process (Red Michael #35) 17:16  |  Tosefta 06/02/07
  71.   Moving from mass suicide to a functional democracy 17:17  |  Albert Edelson 06/02/07
  72.   #64 BECAUSE YOU CALL A CAMEL AN ELK DOES NOT MAKE IT SO !! 17:23  |  paul harris 06/02/07
  73.   What does Israel want 17:52  |  Paolo 06/02/07
  74.   Saudis are not to be trusted? 17:53  |  Lynn 06/02/07
  75.   Paulo claims that the Palestinians are not 17:59  |  Anat 06/02/07
  76.   "Hanoi Tosefti" 18:04  |  FOX 06/02/07
  77.   22 - Do you mean extremists are people who don`t agree with you? 18:11  |  Bruriah Sarah 06/02/07
  78.   The extremists and the moderate 18:14  |  Maurice 06/02/07
  79.   fox on tosefta 18:16  |  yirmiyahu