Abbas given power to form unity govt with Hamas

Top Palestinian leaders of President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party today gave Abbas the go ahead to begin forming a unity government with the militant Hamas in an effort to end internal feuding and international isolation, a party member said.

The Fatah Central Committee gave Abbas “all the powers to begin consultations with all the national factions in order to form a national unity government,” Fatah member Hani al-Hassan said.

The central committee’s meetings, which began on Wednesday, were the first gathering of its kind since the party’s stunning defeat by Hamas in parliamentary elections held in January.

Hamas, which heads the Palestinian government, has since been marginalised by the international community and has come under a crippling economic boycott for refusing to recognise Israel.

Abbas believes that forming a coalition will force Hamas to moderate its anti-Israel stance and help open the way for the renewal of broader peace talks.

“The problem is not between Fatah and Hamas as it is portrayed by some, it is how to save the Palestinian national project and face the current crisis,” al-Hassan said.

Fatah’s meetings were held in Amman because some of its 17 members are barred from entering the West Bank.