Palestinian leaders headed to the Islamic holy city of Mecca today for what officials depicted as a last-ditch effort to end factional fighting and a crippling Western embargo.
They will not leave this holy place without an agreement, because things are catastrophic on the ground, and the whole world will turn its back on us if we continue that way
The Fatah movement headed by President Mahmoud Abbas and Islamist group Hamas, which won parliamentary elections last year, have been locked in a battle for power that has killed about 80 people since December.
Western countries have blocked funding to Hamas, saying it must first recognise Israel and agree to previous agreements signed by the Palestinian Authority.
"They will not leave this holy place without an agreement, because things are catastrophic on the ground, and the whole world will turn its back on us if we continue that way," said Palestinian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jamal al-Shobaki.
Those sentiments were echoed by a Hamas cabinet official who said: "If we do not hammer out an agreement in this holy place we won't be able to do it anywhere."
The talks were expected to start on this evening and last into tomorrow.
A deal acceptable to both parties and the international community is urgent because aid from a bloc of Middle East mediators including the EU, United States, UN and Russia has been blocked since Hamas came to power and is causing massive hardship.
Senior Abbas aide Azzam al-Ahmad said the talks would aim to persuade Hamas to accept the programme of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), which would involve an implicit Hamas recognition of Israel that could end the aid blockade.
Previous efforts to find common political ground have resulted in short-lived ceasefires and in a threat by Mr Abbas to call a new parliamentary election - a move Hamas has said would be tantamount to a coup.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said today he would hold a trilateral meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on February 19th.
"The meeting will take place on the 19th," Mr Olmert said in a speech to American-Jewish leaders, referring to the meeting proposed by Ms Rice during her recent visit to the region aimed at trying to revive long stalled peace talks. Olmert did not say where the meeting would take place.
He also said he hoped Mr Abbas, due to meet with Hamas leaders in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, would not forge a unity government with Hamas that stopped short of meeting Western demands to recognise Israel and renounce violence.