Rival Palestinian factions agreed in principle to form a new government to replace the Hamas-led administration, Palestinian officials said on Thursday. Mustafa Barghouthi, an independent Palestinian lawmaker, said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, were expected to finalise the details in the coming days. “We have agreed on forming a new national unity government made up of qualified people, a government that is capable of lifting the siege and preserving national unity,” he said in Ramallah. A deal to form a unity government between Abbas’ Fatah faction and Hamas collapsed several weeks ago, deepening a power struggle and raising fears of civil war between the groups. Some Palestinian sources said an agreement could see the formation of a government of “technocrats” without direct affiliation to either faction.
Hamas would still be expected to select the prime minister, even if it meant that Haniyeh gave up his post. One Hamas official said he expected Haniyeh to stay on. “Both Hamas and President Abbas have shown great flexibility and both were positive, a mechanism to choose PM and ministers was agreed.”