Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is expected to make a "dramatic announcement" this weekend regarding the ongoing crisis with Hamas over the formation of a Palestinian unity government. PA officials told The Jerusalem Post Abbas was considering the possibility of firing the Hamas-led government and holding a national referendum on early parliamentary elections. | "The negotiations with Hamas are over," said another PA official. "There's no point in pursuing the talks over the unity government because Hamas is not interested in partnership." |
Abbas, who met with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Jericho on Thursday, told a press conference after the meeting that the unity talks with Hamas had reached a "dead end." Abbas has called an emergency meeting of the PLO executive committee for Friday to brief its members on the failure of the unity talks and his future plans, said one official, holding Hamas responsible. "The negotiations with Hamas are over," said another PA official. "There's no point in pursuing the talks over the unity government because Hamas is