Yemen pushes Palestinian dialogue

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Yemen is holding separate talks with rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas in an effort to foster a national reconciliation process.

Hamas officials have welcomed dialogue on the Yemeni proposals, which include returning Gaza to the situation it was in before Hamas took control in 2007.

Fatah officials say Hamas acceptance of the principles of the Yemen initiative is a precondition for direct dialogue.

However, Hamas has not said it is ready to relinquish control of Gaza.

"The visit [to Yemen] is to meet President Ali Abdullah Saleh... and inform him of the movement's acceptance of the Yemeni initiative," Damascus-based Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said after arriving in Sanaa on Tuesday.

The group's Gaza-based spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, clarified the position, saying: "We accept to discuss all the points stated in the Yemeni initiative openly on the dialogue table."

He argued that the Yemeni initiative did not talk about preconditions but "listed items or points for dialogue and we're willing to discuss them".

Outlawed

Fatah delegation leader Azzam Ahmed was adamant that there could only be progress if Hamas accepted the Yemeni initiative "completely in all its clauses".

The seven-point Yemeni initiative also calls for a resumption of dialogue in line with last year's Mecca agreement, before the violent struggle in Gaza in which Hamas security forces prevailed over Fatah's in June.

Mr Abbas subsequently sacked the Hamas-led unity government and outlawed the movement, appointing a Western-backed cabinet in the occupied West Bank.

The Saudi-brokered agreement called for the creation of a unity government and for security forces to be rebuilt on a national rather than a factional basis.

Mr Saleh is expected to chair separate meetings with Fatah and Hamas delegations on Wednesday.

Correspondents say a breakthrough seems unlikely in the absence of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Hamas's Damascus-based leader Khaled Meshal.