GAZA CITY, 3 September 2006 — A spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that the Palestinian national unity government will be announced within 10 days following weeks of wrangling between his Fatah party and the ruling Hamas movement.
“Meetings between President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, including some which took place today, have been productive and positive,” Nabil Abu Rudeina said.
“We expect to announce a national unity government in the coming 10 days.” Abbas has been meeting with Hamas leaders in Gaza since Wednesday in the latest round of talks aimed at forging a unity government.
Hamas heads the current Cabinet since its landslide election win in January but has seen crippling aid cuts to the already cash-strapped Palestinian Authority over its refusal to recognize Israel or renounce violence.
Government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said, “We will announce the creation of a national union government as soon as possible.”
The leader of the Hamas faction in Parliament, Khalil Al-Haya, nevertheless denied that a union government could be announced within 10 day, saying the negotiations “were still at an early stage.”
Abu Rudeina’s announcement came a day after the European Union encouraged Hamas to form a government of national unity, as part of a bolstered EU diplomatic drive toward peace in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces shot and killed a man and his son when they raided a house in the Gaza Strip yesterday, and a third Palestinian was killed by troops near a Gaza border crossing, medics and witnesses said.
In the first incident, witnesses said Israeli troops backed by helicopters entered the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun and engaged in heavy clashes with Palestinian gunmen there.
Residents said the operation targeted the house of a member of Hamas.
— With input from agencies
