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Sanaa: Hamas has said it is ready to consider a Yemeni-brokered initiative for reconciliation with Fateh, but will not give up control of the Gaza Strip.
Both factions underscored that their public acceptance of the initiative meant they were willing to accept mediation but were not budging from their positions on direct talks and the future of the Gaza Strip.
Fateh has said the "fundamental condition that legitimacy must be returned to the Palestinian Authority" – a direct reference to regaining Gaza sovereignty – was required for contacts with Hamas to resume.
Delegations from the two factions were to meet separately with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa but a breakthrough seemed unlikely in the absence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who was initially expected to lead the Islamist group's delegation.
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