Fatah seeks national unity government with Hamas

AMMAN, Aug 26 (Reuters) Leaders of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement today endorsed a national unity government with the rival Hamas group to end feuding they say Israel has exploited to stall on West Asia peace pledges.

Veteran Fatah leader Nabil Shaath said at the end of three days of talks in Amman that the 17-member Central Committee, the governing body of the long dominant Palestinian movement, now sought a unity government with the Islamist group which defeated Fatah in January elections.

''Palestinian blood is sacred and we will not allow any infighting and have agreed to work towards a national unity government,'' Shaath told reporters.

''A national unity government will strengthen our hands to face the Israeli occupation,'' he added.

Abbas and Hamas agreed last week to restart negotiations on a unity government in the hope of easing a Western aid embargo imposed to pressure the militant group to recognise Israel and renounce violence.

A Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Reuters the group welcomed Fatah's decision, saying it created the right atmosphere for consultations under way to form a unity administration.

Fatah also welcomed a move by Hamas to drop its insistence on entering into talks on a coalition government only after Israel frees some 35 of its politicians and cabinet ministers arrested after gunmen from Gaza abducted an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid in late June.

Israel has accused them of membership of a banned organisation. Hamas said the arrest of key administration members was aimed at toppling its government.

Some Palestinian leaders said the Israeli failure to achieve a military victory in Lebanon by eliminating Hizbollah guerrillas had given impetus to renewed efforts to unify ranks against common enemy Israel.

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