Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Wednesday an initiative to end the Palestinian internal split, saying he was ready to visit Gaza at the earliest to help set up a new unity government and immediately start the necessary preparations for presidential and parliamentary elections in the next six months.
Abbas was speaking at a meeting of the National Council of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) at the Presidential Headquarters in Ramallah.
He said he would go to Gaza, not for dialogue, but to set up a unity government to end the Palestinian split, and start the process for Palestinian elections.
"I'm announcing this initiative without consulting anybody. I'm ready to go to Gaza tomorrow to set up a new unity government comprising independent Palestinians to prepare the way for all Palestinians elections during the coming six months or earlier," he said.
"I'm ready to delay or scrap the Fayyad government should Hamas accepts the offer and reach an agreement on this initiative," he added. "Palestinian unity is above everything and I want to deliver the presidency [to the next incumbent] in an honest way and with a clear conscience. I will not run for President any more.
"I call on Esmail Haniyah to make all the necessary preparations with the other Palestinian factions and parties to receive me at Beit Hanoun checkpoint in a couple of days if my offer is accepted," he said.
"I urge Hamas to take this historic chance and not lose it, to enable all Palestinians to stand united in facing the Israeli occupation of our lands. I will hold Hamas responsible should it refuse this offer," Abbas said.
"We will get the UN, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Conference and all other international institutions that Hamas asks for to supervise the coming elections."
Hamas on Wednesday welcomed the positive response of Abbas to an invitation to visit Gaza for talks to end the division, an official said.
"Hamas welcomes Abbas's acceptance of the Haniya initiative," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP, referring to an invitation extended by the movement's prime minister Esmail Haniya during a live broadcast on Tuesday.
"We will start preparing for the visit," he said.
