Official Palestinian circles on Monday expressed concerns about forming a large government, within coming 24 hours, which is likely to undermine the inter-Palestinian dialogue and close the doors for reaching a reconciliation agreement.

The concerns mounted after President Mahmoud Abbas announced earlier that he intends to enlarge the government in the West Bank before the factions, including rival Fatah and Hamas movements, reach a reconciliation agreement.

The official circles considered Abbas' step of enlarging Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's government and the decision of deposed Hamas government in Gaza to nominate a new interior minister as steps which would devote the rift among the Palestinians.

The inter-dialogue between the two big rival movements is expected to resume in Cairo on May 16. However, both governments' moves would put more obstacles before the efforts to succeed the national dialogue in Egypt.

Palestinian observers believed the Abbas declaration on Monday indicates that the tumbled dialogue and the efforts to reconcile with Hamas would make it difficult to reach an agreement between the two movements.

However, the West-supported Abbas reiterated that his Fatah movement is determined to succeed the ongoing Egyptian-sponsored dialogue in Cairo, until a national agreement is reached.

So far, the secular and the Islamic movements had failed in four rounds of bilateral and multi-faction national dialogue held in Cairo since March to agree on forming a government of national accordance that ends their rifts.

Hamas movement, which rules Gaza Strip since June 2007, has strongly rejected Abbas intention to form a larger Palestinian government that will be headed by the pro-U.S. economist Salam Fayyad.

"Abbas declaration that he intends to form a new government in the West Bank will be a premature mourning of the results of the dialogue that is scheduled to start soon in Cairo," said Hamas spokesman in Gaza Fawzi Barhoum.

He added in a press statement that "such a decision doesn't bring good news, expresses bad intention and endorse the feeling that there is no desire to reach any reconciliation deal. Such a move will devote rift and encourage chaos."

Meanwhile, Fatah movement denies that the move to form a larger Palestinian government will abort the national dialogue or it would undermine the efforts to form a national unity government.

Fatah officials said that the move can never be a pressure on Hamas movement, adding "the move to form a larger government is to comply with the daily living needs of the populations until a final reconciliation deal is reached.

On March 7, Fayyad presented a letter of resignation to President Abbas, pledging that his decision was made to pave the way for an inter-reconciliation agreement, mainly between Fatah and Hamas.

Palestinian sources close to President Abbas confirmed that Abbas is seriously intending to designate Fayyad to form the larger Palestinian government, which would include new faces, some of them are Fatah leaders.

"The new larger government would be declared within few hours waiting for the success of the reconciliations efforts with Hamas movement," the sources told Xinhua in condition of anonymity.

Samir Abdullah, minister of planning in Fayyad's government told Xinhua that the ongoing unofficial contacts focus on convincing other Palestinian factions to join the new government, including Fatah movement.

Fayyad said in a statement following his cabinet's weekly meeting that "The new larger government will continue its national responsibilities by easing the hardness and the suffering of the people in Gaza."

But the Popular and Democratic Fronts to Liberate Palestine, the DFLP and the PFLP expressed reservations over joining the new government, saying that such a government would never gain a real national consensus.

"This move of forming a new government would dismantle the dialogue and it will be a premature step to the rounds of the dialogue that will be held soon in Cairo," said Kayed el-Ghoul, a senior PFLP leader in Gaza.

He added that "in case the dialogue fails in Cairo, the Popular Front will reconsider joining a larger government after studying its political platform and its role and also the reflection of such partnership on the general situation."

However, lawmaker Bassam Salhi, Chairman of the People's Party said that his group would ask the president to halt for a while declaring a larger government "until we see what will be the results of the coming round of dialogue."