Palestinian PM says unity government delayed
Source: Reuters
(Adds new round of talks ends inconclusively) By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA, March 5 (Reuters) - A Palestinian unity government will not be agreed before the end of next week, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of the Islamist Hamas group said on Monday. The government, which Fatah and Hamas agreed to form after talks in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 8, had originally been expected to be unveiled at the end of last week. "We did not conclude the consultations to form the government and we will not announce it before the end of next week," Haniyeh told a cabinet meeting in Gaza, referring to his talks on Sunday with President Mahmoud Abbas of the rival Fatah faction. Haniyeh and Abbas met again on Monday and failed to agree on who would take the helm of the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the security forces, officials said. Abbas suggested several candidates and Haniyeh promised to study the names, stopping short of a commitment to accept any of Fatah's choices for the post, one official said. Hamas has proposed naming a retired Fatah general, who is also close to the Islamist group, to fill the position. "The atmosphere was positive, assuring and things are moving in the right direction," said Abbas adviser Nabil Abu Rdainah. Earlier, security men loyal to the rival factions faced off in Gaza after members of Abbas's National Security Forces fired in the air near members of Hamas's Executive Force. No one was hurt. Abbas's men were seeking the return of what they said was one of their positions which Hamas loyalists had taken over earlier in the day, security sources said. Forces loyal to Fatah and Hamas fought sporadic street battles in Gaza until the Mecca agreement calmed violence in which more than 90 Palestinians were killed. The fate of the Executive Force under a unity government is another factor holding up its formation. Fatah wants the Executive Force to be disbanded or integrated in the various security services. Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas-led caretaker government, said Hamas could agree to integrate the force but only in the context of a general restructuring of the security services.
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