The head of Fatah’s unity delegation said Tuesday that the party would "keep the door open" for Hamas to sign a unity deal, despite the expected announcement of a newly appointed Palestinian Authority cabinet next week.
Speaking with Ma'an the day after President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters that a new PA cabinet would be formed, Azzam Al-Ahmad said the move would come on Abbas' return from Paris at the end of the week.
Al-Ahmad, who is leading Abbas' initiative for reconciliation with rival party Hamas, also said the President had sought support from Turkey on a unity proposal, and the country's foreign minister had promised to accompany the premier to Gaza in the case of an agreement.
Officials in Turkey also proposed a meeting between Abbas and Hamas leader in exile Khalid Mash'al in Istanbul, but Al-Ahmad said preliminary contacts showed that Mash'al wanted to cancel scheduled presidential and legislative elections, prompting Abbas to reject the meeting.
In an interview with Al-Ayyam on Tuesday, Abbas reiterated that elections will not be held without the participation of Gaza.
Al-Ahmad said the new PA government, formed by appointed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, will "not be an obstacle" to unity.
"If Hamas agrees to the initiative of Abu Mazen [Abbas]," he said, the government could be dissolved, and reconciliation proceed.
Fayyad and his cabinet resigned on February 14, and Fayyad was asked by Abbas to form a new government, within five weeks. At the time, Fayyad suggested that he could appoint Hamas officials elected in 2006 to the cabinet in a move towards unity government.
Mass protests calling for Palestinian unity on March 15 appeared to re-launch reconciliation efforts, with Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh inviting Abbas to Gaza for talks. Abbas accepted the invitation, but said he would only visit Gaza to sign a unity deal -- an agreement has already been signed by Fatah, but refused by Hamas as insufficient -- and not to negotiate further.
Hamas called Abbas' stipulations "preconditions," and stressed the importance of an agreement that all sides were satisfied with, in order to avoid infighting in the future.
Despite the continuing impasse, contacts have continued between the parties, with Cairo stepping in and inviting officials down to Egypt for limited talks.
Signing an agreement with Hamas on unity would have lead to the formation of a transitional government, making the forthcoming appointed PA cabinet in the West Bank redundant.
Front Page Features