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Talks with Hamas on forming a unity government failed: official

Xinhua, June 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

A dialogue between Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Islamic Hamas movement over forming a new larger unity government has failed, a senior official unveiled on Tuesday.

Azzam el-Ahmed, a member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party's Central Committee, who is in charge of the dialogue with Hamas, said after the failure of the dialogue with Hamas, "President Abbas intends to reshuffle the current consensus government."

The consensus government, headed by Prime Minister Rami el-Hamdallah, was formed in 2014 following an deal reached in Gaza with Hamas leaders, however, the government was unable to perform over the past year.

Two weeks ago, Abbas and Hamdallah agreed to start larger contacts and consultations with all Palestinian political powers including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad as well as all the factions that are members in the PLO.

The PLO executive committee formed a special committee headed by el-Ahmad to hold dialogues with all political powers and factions, including Hamas, which rejected to join a government that adopts the PLO political platform.

The PLO political platform is based on recognizing Israel and all signed peace agreements and accords, and condemning violence. The PLO political platform meets the requirements of the international Quartet for Mideast peace.

"President Abbas' decision to reshuffle the current consensus government instead of forming a new unity one was made after the talks with Hamas were stumbled and reached a deadlock," el-Ahmad told Xinhua.

He said President Abbas will later on Tuesday inform a PLO executive committee meeting and reshuffle Hamdallah's consensus government.

"The answers of Hamas leaders to the possibility of forming a unity government were all negative and led to the failure of the contacts and consultations to reach an agreement," said the senior Fatah official.

Before giving a final answer on whether it will join a unity government or not, Hamas movement offered preconditions, mainly denying the PLO executive committee involvement in forming the government.

Hamas said that the temporary transitional body, the alternative body to the PLO, which was formed following a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation agreement reached in Cairo in May 2011, is the authorized body to form any government.

Hamas also rejected the principle that any unity government has to be abide by the political platform of the PLO, mainly the issue of recognizing Israel and the signed peace agreements.

"Hamas is escaping from the issue and is trying to win more time in dealing with national Palestinian questions, including the formation of a unity government because it gambles of reaching a long-term truce deal with Israel," said el-Ahmad. Endit