RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says if negotiations with Hamas to form a national unity government fail, he will hold early elections.
Abbas made his remarks Friday in a joint news conference with European Union chief diplomat Javier Solana in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
He said having these two options "does not mean we will push Hamas into the sea ... because it was elected by the people and might be elected again."
Abbas' nationalist Fatah and the Islamic Hamas movement have been haggling over the form of a new national unity government that would end the Western sanctions on the Palestinians after Hamas created a Cabinet following its sweeping victory in the January 2006 legislative elections.
The West refuses to release aid to the Palestinians until Hamas publicly recognizes Israel, renounces violence and endorses previous interim peace agreements.
The sanctions have bankrupted the Palestinian Authority and frustration has caused friction with unpaid civil servants. Stalled negotiations over forming a new government have also sparked armed clashes between Hamas and Fatah supporters in recent months, in which scores have been killed on both sides.
But Abbas is due to meet with Hamas' top political decision-maker, Khaled Meshaal, in Damascus Saturday to iron out differences over the form of a new government. The meeting is seen as a last-ditch effort before Abbas makes good on his promise to call early elections.
Abbas told reporters Friday he will also meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
For his part, Solana promised EU efforts to drum up international support to help the Palestinians end their crisis and to revive the stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace process to ease the plight of the Palestinian people and lift the sanctions.
