Embattled Mahmoud Abbas got a major boost in his increasingly bellicose showdown with Hamas tonight, with a US diplomat saying he expects a crippling 15-month-old foreign aid embargo to be lifted once the Palestinian president appoints an emergency government without the Islamic militants.

Political rivals Hamas and Fatah will present a national unity government to the Palestinian parliament for approval on Saturday, capping months of stop-and-go negotiations interspersed by periods of deadly factional fighting, officials from both sides said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia is said to have threatened to quit today after a row with Yasser Arafat.