RAMALLAH: After meeting this week in Cairo to discuss political reconciliation, Palestinian factions failed to achieve the formation of a unity government, Palestinian and Israeli media report. With the ultimate aim of preparing for national elections, Egyptian mediators oversaw talks about the reorganization of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the establishment of a temporary government. Neither Hamas nor Islamic Jihad presently participates in the PLO. The Gaza Strip is presently ruled by a de facto Hamas government, while Fatah leads a Ramallah-based PLO government in the West Bank. The division dates back to violent fighting in 2007 that followed Hamas-dominated elections that were not respected by Israel or the United States. Nayef Hawatmeh, leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), told Ma'an that negotiations collapsed as a result of Hamas officials' rejection of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to lead a national unity government. “All 12 factions agreed, except Hamas members, on the need to have proportional representation for the parliament and presidential elections in addition to the Palestinian National Council and in the Diaspora," the DFLP leader said. According to a Jerusalem Post article, Hamas officials blame Abbas for the failure of the talks. “If Abbas wants the reconciliation to proceed, he should refrain from raising issues that we had already reached agreement about," a senior Hamas official said. “Instead, Abbas should be implementing what has already been agreed upon between Hamas and Fatah." BN
