Hamas is ready to quit power to reach a settlement with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but it will never give up national rights and principles, said deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya on Wednesday.

"We are ready to give up our posts in the government and the cabinet for the sake of unity, but we will never drop any of our rights and principles in Palestine," Haneya said during a reception party in Gaza city.

Hamas, which has been controlling the Gaza Strip since 2007, "does not seek to establish a separate (Islamic) entity" in the impoverished coastal enclave, Haneya added.

However, he accused Abbas' Fatah movement of obstructing Egyptian efforts to broker a Palestinian reconciliation agreement aimed to iron out the rifts among the factions after Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza.

"Fatah's method does not help reach a deal, wherever we make progress, there is a step backward," Haneya said, referring to the slow-moving inter-Palestinian dialogue sessions held in Cairo since March.

The Palestinian rivals are scheduled to hold another round of dialogue in August and the Egyptian mediator is expecting a deal.

The dialogue focuses on reconciling Hamas and Fatah on a unified transitional government until the elections in January, 2010 to take place.

(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2009)