The White House on Thursday welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' appeal for reconciliation talks between his party and Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip last summer. Spokeswoman Dana Perino said Abbas was acting under a Yemeni-brokered deal reached in March for the two Palestinian factions to open their first direct talks since Hamas pushed Abbas' Fatah from power in Gaza. “We didn't object to the Yemeni agreement, and as I understand that, this is a follow-on to that,” Perino told reporters. “Hamas has some obligations under that agreement before these talks could take place and be fruitful.”
