(Xinhua) -- Hamas-controlled parliament on Wednesday released an initiative for reconciliation between the Islamic movement and president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. Ahmed Bahar, deputy Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), said the initiative was sponsored by the speaker Aziz al-Dwaik who is hold by Israel along with a number of lawmakers.
"In the name of the PLC presidency and the kidnapped legislators, we call on the (Abbas') presidency, the (Hamas) government, Hamas and Fatah to immediately resume the national dialogue to resolve the internal crisis," Bahar said in a news conference in Gaza.
According to the initiative, Hamas and Fatah have to stop politically-motivated arrests in the Hamas-controlled Gaza and the Fatah-dominated West Bank. They also have to stop incitement against each other on the media.
After that, the two sides are asked to sit together under the umbrella of the PLC where the two big factions occupy most of the seats with Hamas enjoying the majority of the seats.
During the discussions, Hamas and Fatah will "recall the common factors between them" in a bid to reach a deal, Bahar said.
Tensions between the two movements started in 2006 when Hamas won the elections and defeated the long-dominant Fatah. Hamas accused Fatah of blocking the way of the government that formed after the elections by preventing the pro-Fatah security services from dealing with the Hamas interior minister.
The tension escalated until Hamas routed pro-Fatah forces and ousted the movement in June 2007, taking over the Gaza Strip and separating it politically from West Bank where Abbas boosted his power.