Abbas says Fatah, Hamas deal here to stay

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas indicated Saturday that the alliance between his Fatah party and rival Hamas was here to stay.

An Abbas aide said the president told a senior U.S. official that Washington and the rest of the world will have to accept the fact the two rival groups have forged a coalition that would share power and put an end to factional fighting, Arabic Alalam TV, an Iranian-based satellite service, reported.

The deal Abbas and his Fatah government signed with Hamas in Mecca last week was signed out of necessity even though it failed to recognize Israel as the United States had hoped.

"Abbas told David Welch that the Mecca agreement was the only possible agreement and the world must deal with it," Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh told Alalam.

Abbas and Welch met in Ramallah in the run-up to next week's summit that will involve Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.