Hamas can never seize the West Bank: Abbas

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday his Hamas rivals will "never" be able to take over the West Bank as they did the Gaza Strip, where they ousted his forces in 2007.

"Hamas succeeded in its capture of Gaza because we wanted to avert military confrontation, but what happened there would not be repeated in the West Bank. Never," Abbas told journalists.

Hamas seized power in Gaza in June 2007, ousting forces loyal to the moderate Palestinian president after a week of deadly street battles.

Abbas also said exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal would fail to set up an organization to rival the Palestine Liberation Organization, which the international community recognizes as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

"He won't be able to destroy this edifice," he said in reference to the PLO.

Meshaal said on Wednesday that he planned, together with other radical factions, to set up a new body to represent the Palestinians rather than the PLO, which groups most factions but not Hamas.

Abbas's Fatah dominates the organization.

What happened there (the Gaza Strip) would not be repeated in the West Bank. Never,

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas