MIDDLE EAST:A TOP Hamas official said his group was ready to accept a Yemeni bid for reconciliation with Fatah, which voiced willingness to start a national dialogue when its Islamist rival agrees to the terms of Yemen's initiative.
"The visit is to meet president Ali Abdullah Saleh . . . and inform him of the movement's acceptance of the Yemeni initiative," Hamas deputy politburo chief Moussa Abu Marzouk told al-Jazeeratelevision on his arrival in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.
Abu Marzouk did not say if that meant the group accepted relinquishing its control over the Gaza Strip, but Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said in Gaza that the group would discuss the points of the Yemeni initiative.
The initiative calls for the situation in Gaza to return to the way it was before Hamas seized control of the territory and for early Palestinian elections to be held, conditions endorsed by president Mahmoud Abbas and so far rejected by Hamas.
"We accept to discuss all the points stated in the Yemeni initiative openly on the dialogue table," Abu Zuhri said. "The Yemeni initiative did not talk about preconditions but it listed items or points for dialogue and we're willing to discuss them." Officials from Mr Abbas's Fatah group said they were ready to begin a national dialogue if Hamas accepts the terms of Yemen's proposal.
Nimmer Hammad, an aide to Mr Abbas, said it was too early to say when any such talks could start. "If they accepted the Yemeni initiative as is, then yes, talks with Hamas can resume."
Delegations from the two factions will meet separately with Mr Saleh but a breakthrough seems unlikely.