GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas on Sunday endorsed a proposal by Qatar that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas assume the role of prime minister in an interim Palestinian unity government that would prepare for general elections in the West Bank and Gaza, according to two officials close to the contacts.
Such an arrangement, proposed by Qatar's emir, would help Abbas and his main political rival, the Islamic militant Hamas, clear a major hurdle in slow-moving attempts to reconcile.
Abbas said in meetings Sunday with the emir and Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal that he would consider the idea, said the two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
A Hamas website quoted a source close to the talks as saying Abbas and Mashaal agreed in principle that Abbas would head the interim government. Abbas and Mashaal are to meet again Monday, said Azzam al-Ahmed, a top Abbas aide.
Abbas and Mashaal reached a reconciliation pact almost a year ago, seeking to end more than four years of separate governments in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which is ruled by Abbas' Western-backed Palestinian Authority. As part of the deal, an interim unity government was to prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections.
However, both sides failed to carry out promised goodwill gestures and disagreed sharply over the composition of an interim government. Abbas initially proposed that Salam Fayyad, the internationally respected prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, serve as head of the transitional unity government, but Hamas objected.
An interim government headed by Abbas could allay some of the West's concerns about his rapprochement with Hamas, branded a terrorist organization by the U.S., Europe and Israel.
During Sunday's three-hour meeting in Qatar, Abbas and Mashaal did not discuss the names of other possible members of an interim government, the officials said. The transitional government is to be composed of experts without strong political affiliations.
On Monday, Abbas and Mashaal are to discuss delaying the elections to the end of the year, the officials said. Last year, the two leaders said elections should be held by May, but delays have meant there may not be enough time to prepare for May elections.
Delegations from Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement will hold more meetings in coming days, the officials said.
Al-Ahmed, the Abbas aide, described the dialogue as "positive."
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