MIDDLE EAST: Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh hinted yesterday that he would step aside and not head a unity government, which Hamas is trying to forge with the Fatah faction, to encourage a lifting of the western embargo.
Mr Haniyeh said he hoped the unity cabinet could be in place within three weeks, ending months of intermittent talks and internal violence that has raised fears of civil war.
The prime minister, a senior leader of the Islamist group, told worshippers at a mosque in the Gaza Strip that western powers did not want him to be part of the new administration.
"[ They have] one condition, that the siege will not be lifted unless the prime minister is changed," Mr Haniyeh said. "When the issue is like this, the siege on one hand, the prime minister on the another . . . I prefer the siege be lifted and the suffering ended."
The US and Europe imposed crippling sanctions on the Palestinian Authority when Hamas took power in March because of the group's refusal to recognise Israel and renounce violence. Israel also withheld tax and customs receipts.
Palestinian officials said this week Mr Haniyeh would not be part of the unity cabinet. They said he had given President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah the names of several people to succeed him, although Mr Haniyeh denied doing so.
The prime minister said dialogue with Fatah and other parties would resume next week after talks were suspended in the wake of the Israeli artillery shelling of the town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza on Wednesday that killed 19 civilians. The toll rose after one man died of his wounds yesterday.
"We have laid down the rules and the basis for the formation of a national unity government. I hope that within two to three weeks this issue will be concluded," Mr Haniyeh said.
Palestinian leaders hope the formation of a unity government, partly made up of professional experts, can lead to a resumption of direct foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority. But Hamas insists it will never recognise Israel or join a government that does, making it unclear how a unity cabinet could meet international demands to soften its line.
"There are no concessions," Mr Haniyeh said. The US and Israel have said the Palestinian government had to recognise the Jewish state, renounce violence and accept past peace deals.
Fatah seeks a negotiated peace with Israel.