Abbas declares desire to end Fatah-Hamas rift

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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday declared his willingness to patch up his differences with Hamas and called for international and Arab protection for the Palestinians who, he said, were being subjected to killings and theft of their land by Israel on a daily basis.

Addressing the 20th Arab summit in Damascus, Abbas condemned Israel for its various measures against the Palestinians, warning that such actions would sabotage the peace process.

The PLO supported the Yemeni initiative to resolve the Hamas-Fatah dispute and he was prepared to implement it unconditionally and immediately, Abbas said. He called on Hamas to end its "coup" in the Gaza Strip and to agree to hold early legislative and presidential elections as envisaged in the Yemeni plan.

"In the past, the Palestinian leadership managed to reach the Mecca agreement as a way to end the blockade on the Gaza Strip and unite the Palestinians," Abbas said. "In spite of this, Hamas carried out its military coup , which posed new challenges to us. The coup has split the Palestinian homeland and given Israel a weapon for political blackmail."

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