(Adds Arab League peace conference call)

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The Hamas Islamist movement and the rival Fatah faction opened talks on Sunday on allocating cabinet seats in a unity government that Palestinians hope will lead to the easing of Western sanctions, officials said.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah have both said they hope a new cabinet can be formed within two to three weeks, ending months of intermittent talks and internal violence that have raised fears of civil war.

"We hope the brothers will finalise their technical consultations in a suitable time so we can give the Palestinian people their first national unity government," Haniyeh said before senior leaders from the two sides began talks in Gaza.

Discussions are expected to last several days.

Hamas took office in March after winning elections in January, stunning the long-dominant and more moderate Fatah.

But Hamas has struggled to govern under sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe because of the group's refusal to recognise Israel. It has also been locked in a bitter power struggle with Abbas, who was elected separately in early 2005.

Haniyeh said Abbas had told him Western countries would lift the embargo when the new government took office.

However, U.S. officials want any new administration to meet three conditions first: recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept interim peace deals with the Jewish state.

Hamas insists it will never recognise Israel or join a government that does, making it unclear how a unity cabinet can meet international demands that it soften its line.

The opening of the Palestinian talks coincided with the arrival in Washington of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for discussions with President George W. Bush on Monday. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be high on the agenda.

PEACE CONFERENCE CALL

In Cairo, Arab League foreign ministers called for a fresh international peace conference to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict based on the principle of land for peace.

The ministers said in a communique that permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Israel and Arab parties would be invited to attend the conference.

Israel responded cautiously, suggesting it believed the first stage of the U.S.-sponsored peace "road map" should be completed first. That requires Israel to halt settlement building and the Palestinians to disarm militant groups, obligations both sides have failed to implement.

"An international conference is at the second phase of the road map and we are hoping that the peace process will move forward and will get to that stage sooner rather than later," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar of Hamas sidestepped a question on whether his movement would attend.

Hamas and Fatah have many differences to overcome before they can name a cabinet.

Abbas has not been pleased at the candidates Hamas has proposed to replace Haniyeh as prime minister, the president's aides have said. Haniyeh offered to step aside on Friday.

The frontrunner is Mohammad Shbair, 60, an independent lawmaker and former head of the Islamic University in Gaza, Palestinian sources have said.

Ahmed Qurei, a former prime minister and Fatah leader taking part in the talks, said he hoped the new government "would win the trust of the Palestinian people and the trust of the world". (Additional reporting by Wafa Amr in Ramallah, Jonathan Saul in Jerusalem and Cairo bureau)

AlertNet news is provided by

Delicio.us  |   Digg  |   NewsVine  |   Reddit