Deputy parliament speaker said implementing national unity was the only option left for President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas

Deputy parliament speaker Ahmad Bahar on Friday said implementing national unity was the only option left for President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, according to Ma’an news agency.

After two decades of failed negotiations with Israel, Abbas has exhausted all other avenues, the Hamas leader said in a statement.

Bahar said reconciliation with Hamas would correct the historic mistakes of the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, which he said included the Oslo Accords and the government's reliance on US aid.

Abbas' frequent references to the urgent need for national unity are positive, Bahar said, but words must be converted into action.