“I declare that I am ready to go to Gaza tomorrow so as to end the split and form a new government,” Abbas said during a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Council in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

“I call on (deposed Hamas Prime Minister) Ismail Haniyeh to arrange for my visit to Gaza in coordination and understanding with factions and public activities in the Gaza Strip.”

He called on Haniyeh to join Gazans in receiving him at the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in northern Gaza Strip so he could arrive within the next two to four days, “so we can end this dark and dishonorable chapter of division.”

On Tuesday, Haniyeh invited Abbas for an urgent meeting in Gaza, which the Palestinian president has not visited since 2007.

Abbas said he would not restart national reconciliation dialogue with Hamas because certain controversial issues had been discussed several times in the past. When he is in the coastal enclave, Abbas said that he would form a technocratic, independent government to prepare for presidential, parliamentary and central council elections in six months, vowing that he would not run for presidential elections.

Abbas said that the elections would be under the supervision of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, former US President Jimmy Carter and South African human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

However, Abbas said “elections cannot take place if the West Bank and Gaza don’t first unite.”

The Hamas movement and Haniyeh’s government welcomed Abbas’ declaration.

Abdul-Aziz Dwaik, speaker of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council, said that his movement highly appreciated Abbas’ declaration.

Dwaik said: “Abbas is translating the desire of Palestinian youth who took the streets to end the split between Gaza and the West Bank.” Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu said the Hamas government was “considering the necessary arrangements for this visit.”

Muhammad Al-Hindi, a leader of Islamic Jihad, Gaza’s other main militant faction, urged the two parties “to translate this good will into practical steps to end the political split and unify our people.”

The rallies Tuesday in both the West Bank and Gaza, led by young and disaffected Palestinians, combined with the wave of unrest sweeping through the region, has put heavy pressure on both leaders to resolve their differences.

Meanwhile, Israeli aircraft fired rockets at a Hamas training ground in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing two fighters from the group, Palestinian officials said.