GAZA, Feb. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Senior leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Ismail Haneya, who has been nominated for Palestinian premiership, said on Sunday that Hamas would solve disputes with President Mahmoud Abbas only through dialogue and coordination.

   Haneya, who is a prominent Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and headed the Hamas list in the Jan. 25 legislative polls, made the statement one day after Abbas urged a future Hamas-led government to respect previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements and resort to negotiations with Israel toward peace.

   Hamas quickly rejected Abbas' calls, made at the inauguration session of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) on Saturday, which paves the way for the formation of a Hamas-led new cabinet.

   "We had agreed with him (Abbas) in the past and we are willing to agree with him at present and in the future," Haneya told reporters at his residence in Gaza.

   "We will reinforce our steadfastness together," he added.

   On Israel's decision to impose sanctions on the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Haneya stressed that Hamas' ballot victory was achieved through democratic elections.

   "The sanction measures will not have a major impact on us since Hamas has already get used to them," he said.

   Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli cabinet approved a set of measures against the PNA including a halt of monthly transfer of tax payment Israel collects on behalf of the PNA.

   Haneya also told reporters that Hamas was poised for talks with other Palestinian factions over the formation of a new government.

   "Hamas has established a negotiation team headed by senior leader Mahmoud al-Zahar for talks with other Palestinian factions on forming the new cabinet," he said.

   The team would start its first meeting with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine on Monday to invite the group to join the new cabinet, according to Haneya.

   Defeating Abbas' long dominant Fatah movement in the January polls, Hamas has held 74 seats in the 132-member parliament.

   The group, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction, is expected to form a new cabinet in the coming weeks, marking a new era on the Palestinian political stage. Enditem