Palestinian factions to set up unity government

Cairo: A dozen Palestinian factions agreed to form committees that will establish one government for the West Bank and Gaza Strip during an Egyptian-brokered talks in Cairo on Thursday.

Negotiators of the factions led by bitter rivals Fatah and Hamas said in a news conference after the meeting that they had agreed to end their bitter fighting in an effort to form a unity government.

Hamas and Fatah agreed to release prisoners in their bases, and to stop smear campaigns in the media, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Representatives from other groups in the region also attended the meeting.

The group has agreed to form five committees to address security and the formation of an election commission.

The committees would begin work March 10 and complete their work at the end of the month, by which time they hope a national unity government will be formed.

The breakthrough came three days ahead of an international donor conference in Egypt that hopes to raise money for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Several Western nations have expressed a reluctance to work with any government that includes Hamas, which they consider a terrorist outfit.

Meanwhile, senior Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu should worry about fulfilling Israel's international obligations rather than concerning himself with what kind of government the Palestinian people choose to form.

Erekat was responding to a report in the newspaper that Netanyahu would oppose talks with a Palestinian government that included Hamas.