Final touches to Palestinian unity government 'under way'

Madrid: Final touches are being put to a national unity government in Palestine, paving the way for a meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Khalid Mesha'al, head of Hamas, ending a rift between the two men for nearly a year.

The meeting will be held in Damascus on Monday, according to an official from the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid +15 Peace Conference.

Abbas will hold talks with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad before meeting with Mesha'al.

The head of Hamas who has been living in the Syrian capital for three years told Gulf News last month that the Hamas agreement with Fatah would be made through dialogue and that fighting between the two movement would not solve the problem.

Abbas threatened that he would dismiss the government and hold early election but Mesha'al rejected any move for an early election and said Hamas would defend the choice of people by all means.

Fatah and Hamas had earlier agreed on national unity government but failed to agree on specific key ministries like the Ministry of Finance, which Fatah wants to have.

An official accompanying Palestinian delegation said: "The two ... agreed on the names of the Cabinet and the share each of them to have in it.

"The posts would be finalised today." He said the chances of failure looks dim after mediation from different parties, including Syria which sponsored the discussion between the two.

Abbas' visit to Syria is partly to thank Damascus on its efforts and to meet with Mesha'al who was criticised by Abbas six months ago for "instigating rifts between Palestinians from a remote location".

The clash between the two movements has, so far, claimed the lives of 30 Palestinians and injured more than 100 in the past two weeks.

Once announced, the agreement would end an international boycott to the Palestinian government following the victory of Hamas in January 2005 election.

The United States and the European Union boycotted Hamas for not recognising the right of Israel to exist. Some Arab countries followed suit bowing to the US pressure.

An official in Gaza City, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Islamic Jihad, a smaller rival of Hamas, and Egypt were behind the moves to "contain the explosive situation in the Gaza Strip after the recent clashes".