Several senior Palestinian political leaders confirmed that talks on
the formation of a National Unity Government are ongoing in spite of
the recent set-back regarding some issues especially the distribution
of the ministerial posts.
Nabil Abu Rodina, media spokesperson of the president said on Monday that talks on the formation of the National Unity Government are ongoing in spite of the set-back off the talks on Sunday. Abu Rodina stated that talks will continue today on all levels.
Palestinian legislator, and Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, said that news published by some media outlets regarding the collapse of the internal talks are baseless and that the talks are ongoing.
Barghouthi added that a meeting was held on Sunday between president Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyya, and that another meeting was held in Syria between the former Prime Minister, Ahmad Qorei and Hamas political bureau chief, Khaled Mashal. Abbas and Mashal also held talks over phone.
Meanwhile, Dr. Barghouthi appealed the media outlets to be precise regarding news they publish on the talks since this is an important issue that affects the people and that any misleading information could negatively affect the general atmosphere.
Nabil Amro, president's media and cultural advisor, said that the talks were suspended but did not collapse, the Ramattan News Agency reported.
“Talks reached a critical stage, but they did not collapse”, Amro stated, “No agreement had been reached; so far, the results are inconvenient”.
During a press conference held at the Ramattan headquarter in Ramallah, Amro said that “we can say that Mohhamad Shbeir is the new government head”.
“This is the first step of the thousand mile trip”, Amro added, “Talks are still stalled on the percentages and positions”.
Amro also said that the whole world is following the talks on the formation of the government while the situation in Palestine, the siege, the collapsed health and educational sectors remain in the dark.
Regarding the political stance of the upcoming government, Amro stated that the government, the president and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) should have the same positions.
“Coherence between the positions of the president and the prime minister is essential”, Armo added, “the government must adopt the policy of the PLO regarding the political stance”.
He also said that Fateh movement believes that handing the ministries to independent figures could resolve the conflict, and that the movement does not have preconditions and demands to be in charge of certain ministries.
