WEST BANK/GAZA: Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh says Hamas will consider President Mahmoud Abbas' request to form a government

Record ID: 872684

  • Title: WEST BANK/GAZA: Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh says Hamas will consider President Mahmoud Abbas' request to form a government
  • Date: 22nd February 2006
  • Summary: WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE HANIYEH WALKING TOWARDS HIS CAR HANIYEH'S CONVOY LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 9th March 2006 12:00
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  • Topics: International Relations,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA9RQWZJ8LE8UOFBLLU2JSDGC01
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  • Story Text: VPalestinian Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday (February 21) Hamas will consider Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' request to form a government.
    "I have received from (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) Abu Mazen letter of accreditation to form the coming Palestinian government. Me together with Hamas we will discuss the letter and we will answer it," Haniyeh said in a news conference after his meeting with Abbas in Gaza city.
    "We have started consultations with Palestinian factions about formation of government, aimed to reach the largest national coalition possible and in order to win the confidence of the parliament," Haniyeh added regarding the components of his future government.
    Hamas crushed Abbas's Fatah faction in the Jan. 25 parliamentary election on a platform of rooting out corruption in the Palestinian Authority.
    Abbas has urged Hamas to follow his guidelines and recognise past Palestinian peace deals with Israel and commit itself to seeking statehood through non-violence.
    The Islamic militant group has rejected talks with Israel and said it had a right to pursue armed resistance against the Jewish state. Hamas said it hoped to form a broad coalition with other factions.
    Israel says it cannot consider dealing with Hamas until it renounced violence, recognised its right to exist and accepted past interim peace accords.
    During the past two days, Hamas held talks with several militant factions in Gaza in a bid to achieve a unified position to form the unified cabinet within five weeks.
    But Islamic Jihad leaders said on Monday (February 20) they will not join a Hamas-led government.
    In the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops shot and wounded seven Palestinians, one seriously, in confrontations with protesters during a raid in Balata refugee camp, a militant stronghold, Palestinian sources said.
    The camp has been under curfew since late Saturday (February 18) when Israeli troops launched the raid in search of militants suspected of planning suicide bombings.
    Haniyeh said issues such as Israel's continued raids against militants and settlement building in the occupied West Bank are an Israeli attempt to break the Palestinian people's will.
    "I would like to touch on the escalation in Nablus, in Balata (refugee camp) and there are martyrs. We condemned and we reject this kind of actions against our Palestinian people. It's an attempt to harm the Palestinian people and impose collective punishment. The will of the Palestinian people will not be broken because of this," he said.
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