(Adds dialogue, more quotes)

DAMASCUS, June 15 (Reuters) - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called for dialogue on Friday with President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement after days of civil war in Gaza.

Meshaal told a news conference in the Syrian capital that Hamas had no option but to use force to wrest control of the area from rival Fatah in fighting that killed dozens of Palestinians.

"What is needed now is to deal with the Palestinian schism. Hamas is for Arab sponsorship of a dialogue in the Palestinian national interest," Meshaal said hours after Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo to discuss the crisis.

"The lack of security drove the crisis toward explosion. What happened in Gaza was a necessary step. The people were suffering from chaos and lack of security and this treatment was needed," said Meshaal, who lives in Damascus.

Calling for a reorganisation of Palestinian security forces, Meshaal said elements in Fatah he did not want to identify were to blame for the lack of security in Gaza.

"We need to restructure the Palestinian security apparatus to be a national force chosen according to merit and not on a factional basis," Meshaal said.

Western powers showed support for Abbas on Friday after Hamas routed his forces in the Gaza Strip and began imposing a new order in the enclave after days of civil war.

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