Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends the Palestinian National Dialogue Conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah May 25, 2006.  (Xinhua/AFP)

     HAMAS WELCOMES REFERENDUM

     Senior Hamas officials welcomed Abbas' initiative for a referendum on the proposal.

     Palestinian parliament speaker Aziz Dweik, who is also a senior Hamas leader, welcomed Abbas' call for the referendum.

     The proposal would be put for referendum if the factions failed to adopt it during the two-day dialogue, said Dweik.

     Minister of Religious Endowments and senior Hamas member Nayefal-Rajoub also said that the Hamas-led government would "accept the result of the referendum if it is carried out, in the same way as we accepted the results of the January parliamentary elections" in which Hamas scored a sweeping victory.

     Prime Minister and senior Hamas leader Ismail Haneya, on his part, urged for national unity, but vowed no concessions which he said would harm the Palestinian interests.

     Haneya made the statements in Gaza via live video link with the Ramallah meeting venue since he and other Gaza-based Hamas officials were prevented by Israel from travelling to the West Bank.

     "Today's meeting is aimed to boost our national unity and all of us are endangered as we live on harsh conditions with Western conspiracy," said Haneya.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (C) attends the national dialogue meeting in Gaza May 25, 2006.  (Xinhua/Reuters)

     "There will never be a civil war on the Palestinian territories," he stressed against a backdrop of increasing tensions and repeated violent clashes between his own Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement over security control in the Gaza Strip.

     Haneya also defended the formation of a new 3,000-strong Hamas-controlled security force. The troops, consisting mainly of Hamas gunmen, were deployed in the Gaza streets last week despite Abbas' opposition and have clashed with police loyal to Fatah.

     The goal of forming the new security force was not to "show power but to help the regular police force maintain security," Haneya said.

     Haneya also urged the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), seen as the sole representatives of the Palestinians, to reform.

     The PLO, which espouses a negotiated peace with Israel, groups together key Palestinian factions including Fatah, but not Hamas.

     Hamas defeated Abbas' once dominant Fatah movement in the January legislative polls and took the reins of the government in late March.

     The Islamic group, calling for Israel's destruct, has refused to renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to exist and abide by previous Palestinian-Israeli deals.

     Besides uneasy relations with Fatah, the Hamas-led government is also facing a severe financial crisis due to the West's cutoff of aid and Washington-led political isolation.