Hamas officials trying to begin a reconciliation process with Fatah were given a stark warning yesterday by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, that "there is no dialogue with these murderous terrorists".
Some Hamas officials were seeking an answer to the profound schism between Gaza and the West Bank after the collapse of the coalition Palestinian Authority triggered by the Islamic faction's bloody victory in last week's infighting.
At the same time, they stepped up the pressure on the kidnappers of the BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, seized 100 days ago yesterday, by expressing growing impatience at their failure to free him and warning that the faction would use "all the means" to release him if necessary.
Ghazi Hamad, a key aide to the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who has refused to accept his dismissal as Prime Minister by Mr Abbas, emphasised the importance of reunifying the two parts of any future Palestinian state and declared: "We are trying to find a solution. Hamas is not interested in controlling Gaza. We are not trying to build a state or empire in Gaza."
But Mr Abbas used an untypically fierce speech in Ramallah to claim that Hamas was indeed trying to do just that, and had embarked on a "project of darkness" which included an attempt to assassinate him by blowing up his car with 225kg of explosives on a planned presidential visit to Gaza last month.
Mr Hamad, a former newspaper editor who is one of the most prominent among relative pragmatists in Gaza, admitted he did not yet have a specific solution to the crisis but hoped there would be contacts, possibly through third-party international mediation.
"It is very difficult," he said. "There are two governments and two prime ministers. But sooner or later we have to sit together. President Abbas cannot control things without Hamas and Hamas cannot control the situation without Fatah."
In a notably downbeat appraisal, Mr Hamad claimed before last night's uncompromising speech by Mr Abbas - said to be meeting the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert soon - that the President "was in a trap" because he was unable to influence events in Gaza.
But he acknowledged that the situation posed serious problems for Hamas as well. "It is also not easy for Hamas to accept this situation because ... we want a unified authority," he said.
Israel, in the first air attack on Gaza since last week, responded to a Qassam rocket attack by firing missiles yesterday at two rocket launchers. In southern Gaza, Israeli tanks entered, killing four Palestinian militants in exchanges of fire. Hamas said they had fired on troops entering a village near Kissufim from Israel, who then sent for armoured reinforcements. The military said the operation was planned and part of a broader offensive.
Mahmoud Zahar, who was foreign minister in the then Hamas-dominated Palestinian Authority until March, said it was not Hamas's job to "protect the borders of Israel" but that they would reciprocate if Israel stopped its attacks. If it did not, "the Palestinian people will defend themselves", he said.
Dr Zahar denied he had been a leader of Hamas hardliners opposed to continuing the coalition with Fatah, saying he had signed the agreement in Mecca which brokered the coalition deal. He said that when Abdel Aziz Rantisi was Hamas leader, before he was assassinated by Israel in 2004, "people said he was a hawk and the rest were pigeons. Now they call me a hawk and they are looking for other pigeons".
As families, friends and colleagues held vigils across the world in support of Mr Johnston's release, Mr Haniyeh told reporters here: "It is clear that we are approaching the need for being decisive. We hope to finish as soon as possible."
Dr Zahar, who also called for Mr Johnston's swift release, said discussions had been held with elders of the large Dogmoush family - members of which are widely blamed in Gaza for the kidnap - and that they had said they were personally strongly opposed to the kidnapping. The Army of Islam, led by Momtaz Dogmoush, has claimed responsibility for the kidnap.
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