"The elections will go ahead with the participation of all," Fattuh said on al-Arabiya satellite channel, pledging the elections will not be held if Palestinians of east Jerusalem are prevented from voting.

Fattuh, speaker of the Palestine Legislative Council, was swornin as interim president for 60 days after Yasser Arafat's death last week. Fattuh himself ruled out his presidential candidacy.

Although the date for the presidential poll has been set for Jan. 9, factions have either set conditions for it or said they would boycott it.

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the mainstream Fatah movement, announced on Tuesday that it will not hand over their weapons unless the new Palestinian leadership pledges to pursue common goals of a Palestinian state as well as the return of refugees.

"So long as the Israeli occupation goes on, the resistance willcontinue, and the PNA (Palestinian National Authority) new president doesn't have the right to give up the Palestinian stables," the brigades' senior leader Zakariya al Zubeidi told the"Voice of Palestine" radio.

He said he would participate in the presidential election only if Fattuh can guarantee that all militants wanted by Israel can vote safely.

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Tuesday refused to stop its armed attacks against Israel and called on general elections being held alongside the presidential elections.

Mahmoud Azzahar, a senior Hamas official made the remarks aftera two-hour meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Hamas rejects any cease-fire "as long as Israel continues escalating its armed actions and military operations against our people," he said, adding: "If all types of aggression stop, then there would be talks."

"Holding only presidential elections is a continuation of the Oslo agreement that Hamas rejects and which is over and expired," Azzahar said.

However, Azzahar said Hamas agreed with Abbas to continue meetings in the future and prepare working papers until a unified position is achieved.

Abbas opened talks with 14 Palestinian factions in Gaza late Monday and held a meeting with Hamas.

Abbas' meetings with representatives of the factions were focused on the issue of a united national leadership and the security situation in view of a planned Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

The Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement announced Tuesday that ithas decided not to participate in the presidential poll.

Nafez Azzam, a senior Jihad leader in Gaza, made the announcement after a two-hour meeting with Abbas.

"Although the movement is concerned that these elections shouldsucceed, our decision is not to participate in it," Azzam told reporters.

He explained that the president would have to have contacts with the United States and Israel, which would contradict the movement's position of not having any relationship with them.

However, he is optimistic to "reach a political partnership between the Palestinian factions and the PNA."

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday that he will consider coordinating the pullout from the Gaza Strip with the newPalestinian leadership if the latter curbs attacks against Israel.

"If there is a Palestinian leadership that acts against terror,perhaps then we can coordinate a transfer of the territory to them," Sharon said.

Despite domestic pressure to abandon the plan in light of recent developments, Sharon said he will continue to push forward the unilateral withdrawal.