Palestinians divided over U.S. security plan

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian leaders failed to bridge differences on Sunday over a U.S. plan that aims to bolster prospects for renewed peace talks with Israel by setting dates for both sides to take confidence-building steps.

The plan calls for a "timeline" for so-called "benchmark" steps including Palestinian forces cracking down on rocket attacks and Israel easing restrictions for Palestinians.

Hamas, which leads a Palestinian unity government, has flatly rejected the plan, under which President Mahmoud Abbas would start deploying his Fatah-dominated forces by mid-June to halt rocket fire and smuggling by Gaza militants.

Abbas's aides said he was willing to work with the U.S. plan, albeit with amendments. "We want it to be implemented. We hope to see the Israelis implement it," Saeb Erekat, a top aide to Abbas, told Reuters.

The different positions again expose the tensions between Abbas' secular Fatah faction and ruling Hamas Islamists, less than two months after they formed their unity government in a bid to end infighting.

Abbas failed in talks with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in Gaza to persuade Hamas to support the U.S. timeline or reach agreement on a division of security responsibilities, an official close to the talks told Reuters.

The two were to meet again on Monday, when the Palestinian cabinet would also take up the issue, officials said.

Hamas has shown no flexibility towards a plan that it sees as part of an American effort to strengthen Abbas's forces. "The American plan is rejected and we will work to make it fail by any means," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Baroum.