Palestinian factions in Cairo for crucial unity talks were deadlocked on Saturday after failing to agree on the composition and obligations of a unity government, officials said. "The committees have done all their work with the exception of the two difficult issues," said senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath, according to AFP.
"The difficulties are, first, what kind of commitments the government ought to do to gain international acceptance and, second, whether it is composed of (representatives of) the organisations or independents," he was quoted as saying by the news agency.
Other Palestinian officials said the committees would end their work on Saturday and submit the outcome of their discussions to a steering committee, that would include Egyptian officials, for arbitration.
"In the past few days, none of the essential issues have been practically resolved," said Osama Hamdan, Hamas' representative in Lebanon. According to Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum, the "problem is the government programme."
