Special report: Internal situation in Palestine

   RAMALLAH, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has begun studying options he can take to settle the political crisis after months of internal talks failed to push rivals to agree on forming a unity government, his spokesman said.

   Nabil Abu Rudaina told reporters that Abbas' authorities would be used according to the law.

   He, however, denied knowledge of what choices Abbas was going to take.

   Hussein al-Shiekh, a leader of the Fatah movement led by Abbas, said that the Palestinian president has had "open options whether to carry out early parliamentary and presidency elections or to sack the Hamas-led government and form a new one."

   Meanwhile, Saleh Ra'fat, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Wednesday blamed the ruling Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and its government on the siege imposed on the Palestinians.

   Ra'fat told the Voice of Palestine radio that "the stances of Hamas and the government it leads were the reasons for keeping embargo on," referring to Prime Minister Ismail Haneya's recent remarks that his Hamas-led government will not commit itself with deals and agreements signed between the PLO and Israel.

   Ra'fat called for holding a "democratic referendum" to replace the Hamas-led government with a broader coalition that would be capable of lifting West's political and economical embargo.