Tawfik Abu Khoussa, a Fatah official, said earlier that his group had agreed to the deal and was working to rein in its forces. Fatah issued a statement calling on its fighters not to fire unless there is a serious threat on their lives. However, the statement also accused Hamas of trying to overthrow Abbas.

"We have intentions about (stopping) the fighting. It is now up to the other side to also stop firing," Khoussa said.

A Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said late Sunday the two sides had reached an agreement in principle to halt the violence, but had not finalized the deal. New fighting erupted only hours later.

Despite the violence, the Palestinian president signaled he was determined to push ahead with the plan he announced Saturday to hold new elections. He met with members of the Central Election Commission at his headquarters Sunday to discuss a possible date. The head of the panel said it would take at least three months to prepare new presidential and parliament elections.

"The message of the meeting is that he is serious, that he is saying, 'Don't doubt my words,'" said a top aide, Saeb Erekat. Erekat said he expected elections would be held around June.

Abbas also briefed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the situation Sunday and his efforts to resolve it, said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, an Abbas spokesman.

But Haniyeh rejected the call for new elections.

"We confirm that the Palestinian government refuses the invitation to early elections because it is unconstitutional and could cause tension among Palestinians," Haniyeh said.

Abbas' gamble, after months of indecision, could easily backfire, driving the Palestinians toward all-out civil war or giving Hamas the opportunity to win control of the presidency as well as the parliament and Cabinet that it now controls. But the political deadlock in the Palestinian Authority, and the increasing poverty and violence it has caused, may have left Abbas with little choice.

A poll released Sunday placed Abbas and Haniyeh in a statistical tie in a presidential race. Abbas would win 46 percent, compared with 45 percent for Haniyeh. In parliamentary elections, Fatah would defeat Hamas by a 42-36 margin. The survey was conducted by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research among 1,270 Palestinians and had an error margin of 3 percentage points.

Abbas has suggested he is still leaving the door open to a national unity government with Hamas, which he hoped would end the Palestinian Authority's international isolation, but the growing factional violence made this increasingly unlikely.

In his speech Saturday, Abbas said a unity government was still the best option, but that he had despaired of persuading Hamas to enter into a coalition with Fatah.

The Hamas government has drawn crushing international sanctions over its militantly anti-Israel stand, but has steadfastly refused to recognize Israel as demanded by the West.

1

2