Islamic Jihad warns of rising Fatah-Hamas tensions

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A top Islamic Jihad leader said on Friday a rift between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas could trigger more violence if it is not resolved by January, the target date for a presidential poll.

The groups disagree on dates for holding parliamentary and presidential elections.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement says the polls should be held on the same date. Hamas, which won parliamentary elections in 2006, says Abbas's term ends on January 9 but parliamentary elections are not due until 2010.

"If we get to January 9 without reaching an agreement that would end the state of schism, then we would certainly be heading to a new chapter of conflict that will be more tragic," Ramadan Shallah of the Islamic Jihad militant group was quoted as saying in the London-based al-Hayat newspaper.

Shallah, who was in Cairo attending the most recent round of reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas, urged Arabs, in particular Egypt, to help the two sides resolve their differences.

Previous attempts by Arab leaders to reconcile Abbas and Hamas have ended in disagreement over whether Hamas should cede control of Gaza. Hamas also opposes Abbas's U.S.-brokered peace talks with Israel.

Hamas Islamists seized control of Gaza in June 2007 after routing Fatah forces. Abbas later dismissed a Hamas-led government and appointed a new administration in the occupied West Bank, where Fatah holds sway.

Abbas argues that Palestinian election law, approved before Hamas's rise to power, allows for the contests to be held at the same time.

Egyptian officials have recently been meeting with representatives from different Palestinian factions to settle the Fatah-Hamas rift, but officials familiar with the talks said they did not expect the sides to reach agreement.

Many Palestinians fear a failure to end the factional division soon could make it more permanent and in turn render Abbas's talks with Israel on Palestinian statehood close to irrelevant.

(Writing by Mohammed Assadi; Editing by Caroline Drees)