Abbas, Qurei mend their differences, agree to from a new government

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahamd Qurei, agreed to form a new government which will serve until the general elections scheduled for January 2006.

A senior Palestinian source reported on Tuesday that Abbas and Qurei reconciled and mended their difference during a meeting they held on Monday, and resolved their conflicts following months of edgy relations.

Palestinian public figures, former P.A ministers, Fateh members and Egyptian officials conducted extensive efforts over the last few days in order to bridge the differences between Abbas and Qurei.

Abbas phoned Qurei and invited him to a meeting which would instate him as the head of the new government.

The former Palestinian government was forced to dismantle itself following chaos in the Gaza Strip.

Following chaos and internal violence in the Palestinian controlled areas, a special parliamentary committee, which was established to dead with security anarchy, said that one of the central obstacles is the both Abbas and Qurei were not able to communicate.

A senior P.A official said that it is essential that Fateh party demonstrates a unified front in order to be able to win the upcoming elections, “it is very essential to mend all differences”, he said. 

Also, the official added that Israel exploited the tension between Abbas and Qurei and tried to inflame it.

Israeli intelligence officials repeatedly said that Qurei is an obstacle to controlling law and order in the Palestinian territories “since he interferes with the work of Abu Mazin”.

On Monday morning, the Fateh central committee held a meeting in Ramallah to discuss the fate of the Palestinian government, after the Legislative Council asked Abbas to form a new government within two weeks.

Hasan Khreisha, first deputy of the head of the legislative council, rejected to hold the Minister of Interior, Nasser Yousef, responsible for the insecurity in the Palestinian areas.

“It is unfair to hold one person responsible for this chaos”, Khreisha said, “This is a wide issue, which involves minister, Palestinian factions, and presidency”.