GAZA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Mohamed Dahlan, former senior member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party, on Tuesday called on Abbas to form a unity government and declare it from Gaza.

Dahlan, based in the United Arab Emirates, made the pledge when addressing a massive popular rally held in Gaza City marking 14 years for the death of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

"I call on Abu Mazen (Abbas) to immediately head to Gaza and declare a consensus government that includes all Palestinian factions and political powers to confront the U.S. policies," Dahlan told the crowds of the rally.

Thousands of Dahlan supporters in the Gaza Strip joined the rally to commemorate the 14th anniversary of Arafat's death. They waved yellow flags of Fatah party and raised pictures of Arafat and Dahlan.

Dahlan also called for holding an emergency meeting in Cairo for setting up a temporary committee to reform Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to end the internal division and rebuild a political system that "fits the current political battle."

Dahlan was the senior security chief in the Gaza Strip before Islamic Hamas movement routed pro-Abbas forces and took over the coastal enclave in 2007.