The Fatah movement is set to hold talks with the Islamic
Resistance Movement (Hamas), which won the January legislative
elections, later on Thursday over the formation of a new
Palestinian government, a senior Fatah leader said.
Senior Fatah member and lawmaker Azzam al-Ahmed told local radio
"Voice of Palestine" that he would meet top Gaza-based Hamas leader
Mahmoud al-Zahar, who was also newly elected to the parliament,
later in the day to discuss the formation of a national unity
government.
Al-Ahmed said the coming meeting was "based on an agreement
reached between the two sides 10 days ago to meet again on
Thursday."
Al-Ahmed said that Fatah expected Hamas to give a formal written
statement, clarifying Hamas' position on its future administrative
plans.
He said that if Hamas adopted changes to make its administrative
plans close to Fatah's planks, then Fatah would "start immediately
preparing for the formation of a national coalition
government."
Defeating the long dominant Fatah movement in the Jan. 25 polls,
Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction, has been tasked with
the formation of a new government.
Disputes between Hamas and Fatah flared up during a recent
parliament session when Hamas lawmakers voted to revoke decisions
by the previous Fatah-controlled legislature to grant additional
powers to President Mahmoud Abbas, who now leads Fatah.
(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2006)
