Palestinians revive unity government talks

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas began talks to form a unity government on Monday in a renewed bid to heal political rifts, paving the way for a general election. On Monday, Hamas prime minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh met Hanna Nasir, chairman of the Palestinian Central Election Commission (CEC) appointed by Abbas, to choose members of a technocractic government to oversee the election, a Palestinian official involved in the talks told Reuters news agency. The official who asked not to be identified said: "President Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal will meet next week to finalise the formation of the government and hopefully to announce it, should everything go well." At a news conference, held jointly with Nasir, Haniyeh's deputy Mohammed Awad said: "They (CEC) can start registering the people (voters) in Gaza immediately and without any delays." Hamas's agreement to let the CEC work in Gaza was a condition set by Abbas for starting consultations on forming a unity government. Nasir said voter registration would take six weeks and Abbas would then decide on a date for presidential and parliamentary elections. "I hope there will be no obstacles, so that we can begin the process of ending the division," Nasir said. Cairo suggests the new government would have only a domestic mandate, and not a role in peace negotiations with Israel and other international issues. "The people need to see practical and procedural steps. They have lost faith in statements and in meetings," said Yehya Al-Madhoun, a Gaza university lecturer. "We hope that the arrival of the election committee in Gaza is the beginning of the these steps before holding an election where all parties will be governed by the ballots," he said.