Senior Palestinian militants imprisoned in Israeli jails have agreed a proposal which could be a first step in constructing a unified approach to talks with the Israeli government, it emerged this evening.
The proposal was negotiated over the past month by Hamas and Fatah militants in Hadarim Prison next to the Israeli city of Netanya.
The proposal was formulated by Marwan Barghouti, a leader of Abbas' Fatah Party, and Abdel Khaled Natche, the most senior Hamas militant held by Israel.
The proposal calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state "in all the lands occupied in 1967," a reference to the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
While the document does not include explicit recognition of Israel, the implied recognition would mark a major breakthrough for Hamas.
Mushir al-Masri, a Gaza-based Hamas spokesman, praised the prisoners' effort but refused to commit to the agreement. "It could be a good base for a national platform and a national dialogue, but it still needs more discussion," he said tonight.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he backs the draft, which also authorises him to lead peace talks with Israel based on what is referred to as "Arab legitimacy," an apparent reference to an Arab peace initiative that calls for a two-state solution.
"This document is very important," Abbas said. "It includes a deep and realistic political vision that to a very large extent represents my point of view ... and thus I adopt it."
The draft agreement does not renounce violence, saying Palestinians should "focus their resistance on the lands occupied in 1967."
Hamas has largely observed a truce since February 2005 but has refused to renounce violence formally. Barghouti has supported continued shooting and bombing attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza, while Abbas opposes all violence.
The prison negotiations are also aimed at ending tension between Hamas and Fatah, who are vying for control of the government. The rivalry erupted into violence in Gaza this week, killing three people and wounding more than a dozen.
Hamas and Fatah are to hold crucial talks in two weeks to try to settle their differences, and the draft, which calls for Fatah to join the Hamas government, could be part of the negotiations.