RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 18 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday that his administration would call early elections in response to last month's takeover of the Gaza Strip by rival Hamas Islamists.

"We will call ... for early legislative and presidential elections and we will not wait for approval from those sitting over there in Gaza or from those sitting abroad," Abbas told a decision-making forum of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

AlertNet news is provided by