Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas harshly denounced Hamas on Wednesday, telling a top Palestine Liberation Organization decision-making body he would ask it to call early elections.

Abbas made the announcement during an address to the Palestine Central Council in the West Bank city of Ramallah. His aides said they expected the election by the end of the year or early 2008.

The PA chairman heaped criticism on Hamas because of its violent takeover of Gaza last month, when it vanquished Fatah forces loyal to Abbas, declaring "even the devil cannot match their lies."

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"We will call ... for early legislative and presidential elections and we will not wait for approval from those sitting over there in Gaza or from those sitting abroad," he said. "We want elections because a democratic choice is the right for all the people. We won't exclude anybody from having their say in a democratic way."

In the speech, Abbas repeated his charge that Hamas carried out a coup against him in Gaza. "Nothing can justify the crime of the coup they committed," he said. "Hamas is committing capital crimes, bloody crimes against our people every day, every minute, every hour. There will be no dialogue until they return Gaza to what it was before."

Abbas said he would call for a change in the electoral system, eliminating regional balloting. The regional voting cost Fatah a number of seats in the 2006 election, when rival Fatah candidates faced each other and handed victories to Hamas. The Islamists handily won the election, defeating Abbas' Fatah, which ruled Palestinian politics unchallenged for decades.

Instead, Palestinians will vote for parties, a system known as proportional representation. The parliament would be divided among the parties in proportion to the votes they received.

Abbas blamed Hamas for the plight of thousands of Palestinians who are stranded at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza. He said his Palestinian Authority reached an agreement with Israel to run the crossing with European observers, but when Hamas overran the crossing, the observers left and the crossing remains closed.

"What can we do now?" he said. "They have closed the crossing. To operate the crossing we need the Europeans, and they have left."

He said Hamas is preventing the stranded people from using an alternate route through Kerem Shalom - a crossing where the borders of Israel, Egypt and Gaza meet - by firing rockets and forcing that crossing to remain closed as well.

In response, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri in Gaza blamed Abbas for the collapse of the Hamas-Fatah government. He also said the Palestine Central Council had no authority to call elections. "It is not legitimate to issue such a recommendation," he said. "This council has expired and has no mandate and no authority."

Abbas said he would call a meeting of the PLO's top decision-making body, the Palestine National Council, to reactivate the PLO. He said it would take over from the paralyzed Palestinian legislature. Israel is holding dozens of Hamas lawmakers in prison, and Hamas has boycotted parliament sessions to endorse Abbas' new cabinet.

"We have to be ready to establish a Palestinian state when it comes," Abbas said.

The PA chairman also referred to U.S. President George W. Bush's call for an international conference about Mideast peace later this year. He said he told both Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that core issues must be negotiated now.

That would include borders of a Palestinian state and solutions for the issues of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. Abbas said he would restate the Palestinian demand for an independent state at the conference.

Israel has welcomed the idea of a conference but maintains that core issues cannot be discussed as long as Palestinian violence against Israel continues.

Abbas also said that Europe has restored foreign aid, but he is still waiting for the over $190 million pledged by the United States.

Abbas said ahead of the council's meeting Wednesday that would support its expected decision to call early elections, but did not say when he might hold new elections or how he would organize a vote in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Abbas spoke at a joint news conference with the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, who voiced his support for the Palestinian leader.

"Some initiatives are going to be taken in the coming days that may lead to the dream of all of us, especially if the Palestinians start a political process," Solana said.

Hamas: New elections would be an illegal coup
In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the Central Council has no authority to call new elections.

"This will mean a new coup for the Palestinian democracy," Barhoum said. "The recommendation of this council is illegal."

Under current conditions, it would be impossible to have a vote in Gaza and would risk new violence with Hamas. Many Hamas militants in the West Bank have gone into hiding, but the group has threatened to activate its militants if Abbas pushes them too hard.

"The previous election passed quietly, peacefully, smoothly without a drop of blood. I don't expect the coming election to be quiet without confrontation," Sayeed Siam, a prominent Hamas lawmaker in Gaza, told the group's Al Aqsa television station.

Since taking control of Gaza, the area's Hamas rulers have been plunged into deep international isolation, while Abbas' West Bank government has received support from Israel and the West.

Solana's visit came amid a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at bolstering Abbas. On Thursday, members of the Quartet of Mideast mediators - the U.S., EU, United Nations and Russia - are meeting in Portugal to discuss the situation in the Mideast.

In the latest show of support for Abbas, French diplomats signed a deal Wednesday giving $15 million in direct aid to the Palestinians.

Olmert has also taken a series of steps to boost Abbas, including plans to release 256 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture on Friday.