Palestinian Minister of Information, Dr. Yousef Rizqa, said on Friday
that the National Unity Government should not be formed before
president Mahmoud Abbas receives American and Israeli guarantees that
the siege will be lifted directly after the formation of the
government.
Dr. Rizqa added that the meetings between the president and the government are currently concentrated on the foundations of the government, especially issues regarding any settlement to the conflict, resistance and setting a final date for reforming the Palestinian Liberation Organization so it could include all Palestinian factions.
During a TV interview with the Ramattan News Agency Dr. Rizqa said that the coming government will focus on countering insecurity, aiding the people and breaking the siege.
He added that Fateh and Hamas will hold further meetings in the coming days along with president Abbas in order to finalize the formation of the government and distribute the ministerial posts.
Dr. Rizqa also said that the National Unity Document is considered the agreed base for the internal talks between the factions.
Dr. Rizqa added that Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyya and president Abbas agreed that Hamas, as the faction that achieved the highest number of seats in the Legislative elections, will name the head of the government.
“So far, we did not talks on distributing ministerial posts”, he stated, “After Israeli carried the massacre in Beit Hanoun all talks were suspended”.
Regarding a time frame from the announcement of the government, Dr. Rizqa said “politically we cant set a date for ending the current talks, and the formation of the government for several reasons headed by the continuous Israeli aggression”.
“But the beginning of next week could witness the announcement of the formation of the National Unity Government”, he added, “This government will be a government that everybody agrees on, especially Fateh and Hamas”.
