'Hamas, Fatah to form unity gov't within 3 months'
Hamas official tells Palestinian news agency the two parties held positive talks in Cairo, agreed on timeline for reconciliation.
By JPOST.COM STAFFAbbas and Hamas leader 300(photo credit: Reuters)
Fatah and Hamas agreed on Tuesday to form a unity government within three months, a senior Hamas official told Palestinian news agency Ma'an. Moussa Abu Marzouq, deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, told Ma'an that Hamas and Fatah held positive talks in Cairo and that the parties agreed to a timeline to implement reconciliation by July.Marzouq said that no names were discussed for the new government in the Tuesday talks.Last year, Hamas and Fatah reached an agreement in Doha, Qatar, to form a unity government that would pave the way for new presidential and parliamentary elections. The agreement stipulates that Abbas would serve as prime minister in addition to his job as PA president. Amal Hamad, a member of the Fatah Central Committee from Gaza, said on Monday that Hamas was not serious about achieving reconciliation with Fatah.“Hamas is interested in maintaining its Islamic emirate in the Gaza Strip,” she charged.“Hamas does not want to end the conflict with Fatah.”Hamad also accused the Islamist organization of cracking down on Fatah supporters in the Gaza Strip, noting that more than 30 activists have been summoned for interrogation in the past 24 hours.Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.
