Abbas to call referendum on prisoner initiative

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told delegates from Palestinian factions on Monday night that efforts aimed at getting the Hamas-led government to adopt the prisoner initiative, thereby implicitly recognizing Israel had failed to produce an agreement and that he would now call a national referendum on the issue, a participant at last-minute talks reported. Khalda Jara, of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, cited Abbas as telling participants at the meeting, including Hamas representatives that, "the dialogue has ended without results and we have no choice but to go ahead with a referendum."