Palestinian leaders reach agreement on power-sharing cabinet

Rival Palestinian factions have reached an agreement on how to divvy up Cabinet posts in a power-sharing government, crucial to averting a civil war, a Fatah official said today.

On the second day of their marathon summit, the mainstream Fatah movement and the militant Hamas group were still working on the second part of the agreement: to what degree a new government will recognise previous peace deals with Israel.

That issue is key to whether any government that emerges from the Mecca conference will be accepted by the United States and Israel.

If they judge that the militant Hamas group has moderated enough as part of a new government, it could mean the lifting of the painful financial boycott of the Palestinian government and a resumption of the peace process with Israel.

Maher Mekdad, a member of the Fatah delegation, said the two sides had reached an agreement on the division of ministries in a new Cabinet.

The important post of interior minister, who controls most security services, will be an independent candidate proposed by Hamas and approved by President Mahmoud Abbas, head of Fatah, Mekdad told the Associated Press.