Abbas, Haniyeh arrive for unity talks in Mecca

MECCA, Saudi Arabia, Feb 6 (Reuters) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Islam's holy city of Mecca today for what officials said was a last-ditch effort to end factional fighting.

The Fatah movement headed by Abbas and rival Islamist group Hamas, which won a parliamentary election last year, have been locked in a battle for power that has spiralled into violence and killed about 80 people since December.

Damascus-based Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal is the only key figure yet to arrive for the reconciliation talks, called by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, who met Abbas in Jeddah and voiced hope the talks would ''achieve the aspirations of the Palestinian people'', according to the Saudi Press Agency.

''They will not leave this holy place without an agreement, because things are catastrophic on the ground and the whole world will turn its back on us if we continue that way,'' said Palestinian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jamal al-Shobaki.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said: ''The difference is that both sides have the will ... Both sides are coming without preconditions and without deadlines.'' Haniyeh went into talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal upon arrival in Jeddah. Hamas and Fatah officials said they hoped Abbas, Meshaal and Haniyeh would come together for a meeting with King Abdullah later on Tuesday night.

The Palestinian leaders are expected to perform pilgrimage at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam's holiest site, before opening talks which will continue on Wednesday.

Western countries have blocked funding to Hamas until it recognises Israel and agrees to previous agreements with Israel signed by the Palestinian Authority, a self-rule body set up in 1993 on land occupied by Israel in 1967 and on which Palestinians hope to establish their own state.

UNITY GOVERNMENT Israel and the United States do not want Abbas to agree to a unity government that stops short of recognising the Jewish state, renouncing violence in the historic conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and abiding by interim peace deals.

Senior Abbas aide Azzam al-Ahmad said the talks would aim to persuade Hamas to accept the programme of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), which would involve an implicit Hamas recognition of Israel that could end the aid blockade.

''This won't contradict the requirements for lifting the siege ... I'm sure once Hamas honours PLO agreements the Quartet will not be asking Hamas to recognise Israel any more,'' he said, referring to a bloc of Middle East peace mediators made up of the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia.

Previous efforts to stem the bloodshed and find common political ground have resulted in short-lived ceasefires and in a threat by Abbas to call a new parliamentary election, a move Hamas has said would be tantamount to a coup.

''We promise our people that we will do all we can and will exert every effort in order to reach a Palestinian agreement over the formation of a unity government,'' Haniyeh said before leaving his base in the Gaza Strips for the talks.

A key U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia is keen to see an end to violence among the Palestinians, fearing that it is contributing to radicalism in the region and offering non-Arab Shi'ite Muslim power Iran a chance to increase its influence.

Iran has provided financial help to the Hamas-led government.

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