Special report: Internal situation in Palestine  

    GAZA, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet Prime Minister Ismail Haneya of Hamas on Sunday in Gaza city to discuss security issues, sources at Abbas' office said Saturday.

    The leaders of Hamas and Fatah will discuss a pending resignation tendered by Interior Minister Hani al-Qawasmeh who accused security chiefs, loyal to Abbas' Fatah, of blocking his plans to restore security.

    Representatives of the security agencies will take part in the first meeting between Haneya and Abbas after the president's return last month from a European tour seeking a lift of sanctions on the coalition government.

    Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said that Abbas' priorities were "the success of the national unity government, overcoming the siege and imposing the law."

    Erekat also denied reports that Abbas would resign in two months if Western sanctions against the Palestinian government remain in place.

    Meanwhile, Erekat revealed that the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will not visit the region this month, denying earlier reports.