GAZA: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas on Monday reached a deal to form a unity government that the Palestinians hope will end their international isolation and revive aid. "We have finalised the elements of the political agenda of the national unity government ... Hopefully, in the coming few days we will begin forming the government of national unity," Abbas said on Palestine TV with Haniya sitting next to him. Palestinians hope the creation of a unity coalition will lead to the lifting of a Western aid embargo imposed on the six-month-old Hamas government for refusing to recognise Israel.
Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction, has so far resisted international pressure and calls by the moderate Abbas to soften its policy towards the Jewish state. It was unclear if the militant Islamist movement had explicitly changed its position. Israel said the new government could create momentum for peacemaking if it recognised Israel, renounced violence and ensured the release of a soldier abducted by militants in June.