Abbas meets Hamas leaders in W. Bank

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas met Hamas leaders in the West Bank on Friday for the first time since the Islamists routed his forces in a bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip in June.

Abbas, who leads the moderate Fatah party, was hosting Nasserdine al-Shaer, former deputy prime minister in the first Hamas government, at his office in the West Bank capital of Ramallah, a presidency official said.

Until now, Abbas has ruled out any dialogue with Hamas unless the movement returns Gaza to his authority after what he has called a coup d`etat that has effectively split Palestinian society into two entities.

Two other senior Hamas members in the West Bank, Farraj Rumana and Hussein Abu Qweik, were also at the meeting.