Rival Palestinian leaders meet in Mecca for talks on avoiding another Mideast war

(AP) Rival Palestinian leaders began crucial talks Wednesday in Islam's holy city, vowing to reach an agreement and avert civil war, a key step toward resuming the peace process with Israel.

Many Palestinians fear factional fighting will intensify if the Mecca talks fail. Gunbattles have killed more than 30 people in the days before a truce began Sunday, and there were new treats of revenge attacks in Gaza on Wednesday.

In a sign of unity, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Fatah faction, rode to Mecca in the same car for the first day of talks. Saudi and Palestinian officials have said intense negotiations will continue until a deal is hammered out.

"We came here to agree and we have no other option but to agree," Mashaal told the inaugural ceremony in a palace overlooking the Kaaba, the shrine that all Muslims face in their daily prayers.

Saudi King Abdullah arranged the talks between Mashaal and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the moderate Fatah party. But the Saudis did not attend, having repeatedly said there would be no outside interference in the negotiations.

The king's sponsorship of the talks and his choice of venue show the Saudis' strong desire to produce a breakthrough in the Palestinian conflict, which Arabs have long accused their leaders of neglecting.

Abbas said he and his Fatah delegation had told their supporters that "we will not leave this holy place until we have agreed on everything good, with God's blessing."

"I tell our people to expect good news, and I hope this (meeting) will not be mere words in the air," he said.

Mashaal turned to Abbas and said they both had to tell their supporters to respect the truce that took effect Sunday.

"We want to give a message to the nation, and the world, to create a positive atmosphere for these talks," Mashaal said.

But tensions persisted in Gaza. Hamas militants warned of new violence unless Fatah officers accused of being behind an attack last week on an Islamic university were handed over by the end of the day. Hamas also blamed Fatah for the slaying of one of its members in a shooting Tuesday night _ though the attack may have been part of clan warfare that has overlapped the political battles.

In a sign of the general hope that the Mecca talks will deliver a breakthrough, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced Tuesday that he, Abbas and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet Feb. 19 in Jerusalem.

Abdullah held separate talks with the two delegations after their arrival in Jiddah on Tuesday. Earlier Wednesday, Mashaal, Palestinian Prime Ministers Ismail Haniyeh and other members of the Hamas delegation called on Abbas in Jiddah.

Hamas delegate Abdel Rahman Zaidan described the meeting as "positive" and said it was clear Abbas shares with Hamas the desire to reach an agreement.

Hamas and Fatah have held numerous discussions on a coalition government, but talks have foundered on the composition of the government and its stance on agreements signed with Israel. Hamas has long refused to recognize the peace accords Israel reached with the Palestine Liberation Organization, of which Fatah is the major member.

In the first round of talks, the two sides agreed to set up committees to deal with each part of their disputes.

Beyond ending Palestinian infighting, a deal on power-sharing is vital for any resumption of the peace process. Israel has refused any talks since Hamas formed a government following January 2006 elections, and the West imposed a financial blockade on the Palestinian government because of Hamas' refusal to renounce violence and recognize Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said her country would not accept any Palestinian government that does not explicitly renounce violence and accept Israel's right to exist.

Abbas, a moderate who was elected separately, wants an agreement on a coalition government in which Hamas will give some degree of recognition to previous peace agreements with Israel to allow a resumption of talks and an end to the embargo.

But Hamas is worried about where a Mecca agreement might lead in talks with Israel.

"Who can guarantee that we will not be making a mistake if we give concessions, as the PLO has done?" a member of the Hamas delegation, Mohammed Nazal, said in an interview from Jiddah.

"Will we get an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital?" he said, referring to the long-cherished goals of both Fatah and Hamas.

The talks are also a test of Saudi diplomacy. Normally the kingdom prefers to work behind the scenes, but it is taking an assertive role in trying to resolve the Palestinian conflict, as well as the war in Iraq and the dispute in Lebanon.

Abbas' spokesman, Nabil Amr, said the Fatah delegation wanted Abdullah to play a direct role in the talks "because he has the respect of the two parties."

The Saudis fear that the Shiite-Sunni tension reflected in the Iraqi and Lebanese disputes could erupt and destabilize the whole region. The kingdom itself has a significant Shiite minority.

The Saudis also want to stem the influence of mainly Shiite Iran, its longtime rival, which has a hand in all three conflicts. Iran has funneled millions of dollars to Hamas and Hezbollah and has enormous influence among the Shiite parties in Iraq. In a sign of its concern, Saudi Arabia has even opened contacts with Iran to cooperate in easing tensions in Iraq and Lebanon.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia sees the revival of the Israeli-Arab peace process as vital to calming the Mideast.

"What's going on in the land of Palestine serves only the enemies of the Islamic nation," Abdullah told Abbas on Tuesday, according to the Saudi News Agency.

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Associated Press Writer Salah Nasrawi in Cairo contributed to this report.