RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- A top Palestinian Fatah prisoner held in Israel warned Fatah and Hamas leaders meeting in Mecca against failing to permanently resolve their differences.
Palestinian legislator Marwan Barghouti said in a statement Wednesday if the talks in the holy Saudi city of Mecca between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and top Hamas officials fail, "the Palestinian people and history will never forgive them."
Barghouti, who is serving several life sentences in Israel, urged officials from the rival factions to "live up to their national responsibilities in these crucial historic moments," insisting the Fatah and Hamas leaders agree on forming a national unity government.
Abbas and Hamas' political chief Khaled Meshaal, with leaders from both factions, started talks in Mecca Wednesday to end a year-long power struggle that has recently deteriorated into gun battles in Gaza, in which scores have been killed.
"The Palestinian people and history will never forgive any party that will obstruct or foil the meeting, which provides a historic moment to launch a comprehensive strategic dialogue with the participation of all the Palestinian forces ... to rearrange the Palestinian situation," Barghouti said in his statement, released in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
At the opening of the Mecca talks, Abbas vowed the leaders "will not leave here except with an agreement" that could end the Western sanctions imposed on the Palestinians since Hamas formed a government after sweeping the January 2006 elections.
Meshaal, who is based in Damascus, also vowed to continue discussions until an accord is reached. "We assure the Palestinians we will not leave this place except with an agreement."
Such an agreement includes forming a new national unity government that would either be non-partisan or a wider national coalition cabinet comprising all Palestinian factions. The priority, Palestinian observers say, is removing the sanctions, which the West refuses to lift until Hamas recognizes Israel and previous agreements, and renounces violence.
