Hamas official lays down conditions for unity govt

8 February 2013, 12:12 (GMT+04:00)

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Hamas official Ismail Ashqar said Friday that consultations for establishing a national consensus government will be initially confined to Fatah and Hamas, and then presented to the rest of the factions Maan reported.

Fatah and Hamas are set to meet Sunday in Cairo in order to discuss formation of the new government.

Ashqar presented two conditions for the long-awaited joint government. He said Hamas still does not agree with the original proposal that the cabinet is composed of technocrats, but rather they want political figures from both parties.

The Hamas official also said that Abbas' decision to form the government only has political weight, to be a legal entity it should be approved by the parliament.

The Palestinian Legislative Council has not sat since 2007, when Hamas and Fatah split Palestine into separate governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.