Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas may form a “new government” within 10 day, senior Palestinian officials said yesterday. The officials told the independent Palestinian news agency Ma’an that Abbas “may be forced to form the new government before he heads for talks in Washington with US President Barack Obama on May 28.”

The development came a day after the rival Hamas and Fatah movements decided to adjourn the current round of Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo to May 16-17.

The key stumbling block remains the political program of a Palestinian unity government that would be in power until elections are held in January 2010. The international community says it will only deal with a Palestinian government that recognizes Israel, a concession Hamas is unwilling to make.

To avoid the impasse on forming a government, Egypt has that Hamas stay out of the transitional government and instead enables Abbas to run it, and to form a join committee to be accepted by Fatah and Hamas that works on reconstructing Gaza and prepares for the upcoming elections.

Earlier yesterday, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the Palestinians will not sign any peace deal with Israel or hold internal elections unless the Palestinian territories are reunited. Erekat said in a press statement “there will be no political solution or elections without Jerusalem, West Bank and the Gaza Strip as one unit.”

He added “(Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas and the leadership abide by all efforts to restore the Palestinian unity, reuniting our front and end the state of split.”

The split widened in 2007 when Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces and seized control of the Gaza Strip, cutting political unity with the West Bank.

Mushier Al-Masri, a Hamas lawmaker based in Gaza, said yesterday Fatah’s insistence to reflect international conditions in the government’s platform blocks the way to an agreement. Masri added that Fatah also wants Hamas to stick by the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) commitments toward peace with Israel.

“Hamas will try to be flexible as much as possible but cannot make concessions on any rights or principles,” Masri said.