On Thursday a Palestinian mediator between President Mahmoud
Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haneya said talks on forming a
national unity government had reached "a decisive point."
Lawmaker Mustafa al-Barghouti added in a statement released to
the press that a unity government could see the light during the
coming days "if true intentions were available."
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Al-Barghouti made the statement after his meeting with Abbas in
Ramallah and ahead of his visit to the Gaza Strip where he would
meet Haneya.
The Palestinian political factions have been involved in
sporadic talks after they agreed to replace the incumbent Hamas-led
government with new faces able to draw international aid and
support. The talks have been off and on amid different proposals on
the shape of the coming government.
Last month Abbas said he'd like to see a temporary government of
independent technocrats as talks between the leaders to form a
unity government had been deadlocked over Hamas' refusal to
recognize Israel.
However, Hamas rejects the idea of a technocrat government and
insists on a national unity group comprising all political
factions. Hamas lawmaker Salah al-Bardawil said on Thursday that an
agreement had been reached to dismiss the proposal of forming a
technocrat government and repeated Hamas' call for a unity
government based on the Prisoners Document of National
Accordance.
For his part Haneya told reporters on Thursday that the talks
aimed at lifting the siege on the Palestinians and end the state of
disorder in there were continuing.?
Concerning moves to form a new government Haneya said the talks
"would be easy if they maintained the Palestinian people's
interests, boosted the national unity and led the siege being
lifted."
The international community had boycotted the Hamas-led
government since it came to power in March for rejecting to
recognize Israel and renounce violence.
Meanwhile Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued operations in
the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun on Thursday, an IDF
spokesman told Xinhua.
The spokesman said that a group of Palestinian militants fired
an anti-tank missile at an IDF tank operating in the area but
caused no damage.
According to the Ha'aretz daily three Palestinians were
killed on Thursday by Israeli troops bringing the death for them to
11 since the start of the operation in the early hours of
Wednesday.
A statement issued by the IDF Thursday said that during the
first day of the operation, Israeli troops uncovered large amounts
of weaponry in? buildings in Beit Hanoun including rifles,
ammunition and night-vision equipment.
Three Palestinians hiding weapons in their home were arrested
and taken for questioning, said the statement.
The army spokesman said that the rockets were fired from Beit
Lahya, a town west of Beit Hanoun, not from the region dominated by
Israeli troops.
Israel started a new round of large-scale military operations in
northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday in an attempt to stem Qassam
rocket attacks.
(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2006)
