Ramallah: A breakthrough on the formation of the Palestinian unity government will be announced in the coming couple of days, said a top Palestinian official.

Wasel Abu Yousef, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) told Gulf News. "The announcement will surly make the Palestinian and Arab public happy," he said.

Abu Yousef declined to name the new Palestinian prime minister, however, a senior Fatah official told Gulf News that Salam Fayyad is Fatah's only candidate to lead the coming unity government and a breakthrough in the ongoing discussions only means that Hamas has approved his candidacy.

"Fatah insists Fayyad is the right person to lead a Palestinian government and no one else, " the official said.

"Hamas must have realized the kind of financial crisis the Palestinian National Authority will go through should a Hamas member or cadre lead the coming unity government," he said.

 "The donors have not been paying their scheduled dues to the PNA which ended up in a grave need for funds and resources," he said.

"This month Fayyad's government managed to pay half of the salaries, but next month the government will not be able to settle even that portion and the entire Palestinian public will be in big trouble," he stressed.

The official said that it seems that Hamas has finally realized the importance of Fayyad to lead the coming unity government and showed some understanding for the Fatah viewpoint.