Abbas to Hamas: Unity talks or early elections

Hamas immediately rejected the call, which was widely seen as an effort to pressure the Islamic militant group and pave the way for Abbas to extend his term by at least another year.

Although the Palestinians hope to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza, the two areas have been under rival governments since Hamas fighters violently seized control of Gaza in June 2007. Gaza and the West Bank lie on opposite sides of Israel.

Abbas, who controls only the West Bank, enjoys backing from the international community, while the Hamas regime in Gaza is widely shunned. Repeated attempts at reconciliation have failed, most recently this month when Hamas abruptly canceled its participation in Egyptian-mediated talks in Cairo.

"We will wait until the beginning of next year, and if the national reconciliation talks have not started, I will issue a presidential decree calling this election," Abbas told leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is dominated by his Fatah movement.

Abbas said he would call elections both for the presidency and to replace the Hamas-dominated Palestinian legislature.

Seeking to boost his stature, the PLO leadership late Sunday declared Abbas to be president of the Palestinian state as well as head of the Palestinian Authority. The title had been vacant since the death of Yasser Arafat in 2004. It is symbolic because a state has not yet been created.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum rejected that decision, noting the PLO council is not an elected body. "They were never elected by the Palestinian people, and those who were not elected have no right to elect others," he said.

Abbas' election threat addressed a dispute that has been simmering for some time. Hamas argues his presidency runs out Jan. 9, while Abbas says he has another year in office.

The dispute is rooted in contradictory Palestinian election law. Abbas was elected to a four-year term in January 2005 after Arafat died, meaning his term would end in January. But the law also says presidential and parliamentary elections are supposed to be held together. The next parliamentary vote is scheduled for January 2010.