Abbas, Haniya hold pivotal meeting

Meanwhile, just hours after Abbas arrived in Gaza Friday, Israeli special forces seized two wanted Palestinians in what was the country's first raid into the Gaza Strip since its withdrawal last year.

An army spokesman said the two were militants in the Islamist Hamas movement who were plotting to attack Israel.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that the detainees, brothers Osama and Mustafa Abu Muammar, were sons of a Hamas activist but were not themselves members of the radical Islamist movement.

The incursion came as Abbas was pushing Hamas to accept an initiative drawn up by jailed faction leaders which calls for a Palestinian state on land occupied in 1967, an end to attacks inside Israel and a national unity government.

If the current talks fail, Abbas, whose Fatah faction was ousted from power in a January vote, has promised to put the so-called prisoners' initiative to a July 26 referendum, which Hamas considers an attempt to overthrow its government.

In the days following Abbas's ultimatum, clashes erupted across the West Bank and Gaza between Hamas and Fatah loyalists. Scores died in shootouts and many feared a descent into full-scale civil war.

The one-on-one Abbas-Haniya meeting could hasten an agreement in faction talks that were originally meant to last a week but which are now stretching into day 10, with significant differences still unresolved.

The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Mahmud al-Zahar and Interior Minister Said Siam, both also of Hamas.

The two men had met briefly late on Friday in secret session aiming to sign a document on ending the power struggle.