Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected demands last night by Hamas for control of the breached Gaza-Egypt border and told the Islamist group to "end its coup in Gaza".
Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in June after routing Mr Abbas's more secular Fatah forces, blasted open the Egyptian border last week in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade, letting Gazans pour into Egypt to stock up on goods.
Mr Abbas has already won US, European and Arab backing to take control of the Rafah crossing, to the exclusion of Hamas.
"Hamas has to end its coup in Gaza, accept all international obligations, and accept holding early elections. After that, our hearts are open for any dialogue," Mr Abbas said, referring to Hamas as an "illegitimate" party.
It is unclear how Mr Abbas, whose authority has been limited to the Israeli-occupied West Bank since June, would be able to exert control over Rafah given opposition from Hamas, whose forces have command on the ground.
Mr Abbas has met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt to discuss restoring order at the frontier.