Egyptian mediators have proposed that Fatah and Hamas put their deadlocked unity government talks on hold and instead establish a committee to coordinate their rival Palestinian administrations, a senior Palestinian official said on Tuesday.
Egypt's chief mediator Omar Suleiman "proposed a new approach during the last talks that would include delaying seeking a government of national unity because of persistent divisions over its programme," the official told AFP. Instead, Fatah and Hamas would "proceed to a coordination between the governments of Ramallah (in the West Bank) and Gaza through a committee including representatives from the Palestinian factions."
Unity talks between Hamas and Fatah movement were suspended on Thursday for three weeks because of "new proposals."
On Monday, Dr. Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas leader, stated that his movement will not deal with any proposals or projects which do not maintain the "Palestinian national constants." Radwan stressed that the formation of a Palestinian government committed to the international Ouartet's terms and recognizing Israel as a legitimate state on the land of Palestine is not on the agenda of Hamas.
