Hamas, Fatah to form unity gov't in 3 months

Hamas, Fatah to form unity gov't in 3 months
Wed May 15, 2013 22:35:02

Two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas have announced that they have set a three-month timetable to form a unity government and hold elections.

The announcement comes after a meeting late Tuesday at the Egyptian security services headquarters in Cairo between Azzam al-Ahmed, the Fatah official in charge of reconciliation affairs, and Mussa Abu Marzuq, his Hamas counterpart.


“We must take immediate steps to agree on the Palestinian National Council’s electoral law and set a date for elections. We have said these measures must be carried out within three months,” Ahmed told Voice of Palestine radio.


His words were echoed by Sami Abu Zohri, a Hamas spokesman, who told AFP that both factions had decided to “finalize all reconciliation issues in three months, including that of the national unity government.”


Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas said in April that he would renew consultations with the Hamas movement, after the resignation of authority prime minster Salam Fayyad, who had served since 2007.


The two movements signed a reconciliation deal in Cairo in 2011, which was meant to have paved the way for legislative and presidential elections within 12 months.

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