RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas insisted Monday that he will push ahead with new elections, despite a wave of factional fighting between his Fatah party and the rival Islamic group Hamas.
With British Prime Minister Tony Blair by his side, Abbas also reached out to Israel in hopes momentum toward peacemaking would provide an electoral edge over Hamas.
Blair also met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on Monday, after which the Israeli leader said he hoped to have a summit with Abbas "very soon."
Olmert said a joint committee would be set up "in the coming days" to hammer out the details of a prisoner swap — a key issue that has prevented the men from meeting.
In renewed violence today, a gunbattle between Palestinian factions erupted within the compound of a Gaza hospital, witnesses and hospital officials said. One person was killed and 11 wounded. Shots also rang out outside the presidential compound.
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Tensions in the Gaza Strip rose late Monday after a Fatah supporter was killed in a gunfight and a senior Fatah official was briefly seized by Hamas militants. The unrest followed a relative lull after the sides declared a truce Sunday, then resumed fighting.
Hamas and Fatah have been locked in a power struggle since the Islamist group defeated Fatah in legislative elections in January. Abbas' Fatah party controls the presidency, while Hamas controls parliament and the Palestinian Cabinet, putting it in charge of most government functions.
The United States on Monday tentatively endorsed Abbas' call for elections. At the same time, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Bush administration is trying to sell its plan to Congress to shore up security forces loyal to Abbas with money for salaries, training and logistical support.
At a joint news conference with Blair in Ramallah, Abbas said the violence would not deter him from going ahead with presidential and legislative elections, perhaps this summer — several years ahead of schedule.
"We want to examine the will of the people. Do they still trust those they have chosen?" he asked. Abbas was elected president in 2005 and Hamas won a separate parliamentary vote a year later.
Hamas has condemned the election plan as a coup and threatened to boycott the vote.
"We stand against any step that is against the law and against the constitution," Khaled Mashaal, Hamas' exiled leader, told the British Broadcasting Corp.
Mashaal issued a statement from Syria saying he had been in touch with key mediators — including Qatar and Egypt — to discuss "how to contain the current tension in the Palestinian area." The statement stressed Hamas' commitment to "dialogue as the only way to solve differences and problems with Fatah."
An opinion poll published Sunday indicated Abbas was in a tie with the most popular Hamas politician, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Abbas' aides said he hopes his new decisiveness, coupled with progress in negotiations with Israel, will boost his popularity.
Abbas also said he is ready to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "We have to meet. We need each other, and we have to deal with our problems," Abbas said, adopting a warmer tone than in the past.
Blair was effusive in his praise of Abbas and urged the world to rally behind him.
"We want to work with people of moderation and tolerance who understand that in today's world, people of different faiths want to live together," he said.
The Palestinians want Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners; Olmert says there can be no progress until Palestinian militants free an Israeli soldier captured last June.
Abbas favors a peace agreement with Israel. Hamas is committed to Israel's destruction.
