Hamas, Fatah Said to Agree on Abbas as Interim Palestinian Chief
February 06, 2012, 4:49 AM ESTBy Jonathan Ferziger and Fadwa Hodali
Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The Islamic Hamas movement and secular Fatah party agreed that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will head an interim joint government until elections are held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to two people close to the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details are still incomplete.
Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal are scheduled to discuss the proposed agreement at a meeting today in Doha, Qatar, according to spokesmen for both leaders.
The Bethlehem-based Maan news agency said Abbas, chairman of Fatah, was proposed as prime minister of the interim government to resolve a longstanding disagreement with Hamas over the choice.
Hamas, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S. and the European Union, and Fatah signed an agreement in Cairo last May to create the interim government and hold elections within one year.
--Editors: Ben Holland, Louis Meixler.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Ferziger in Tel Aviv at jferziger@bloomberg.net; Fadwa Hodali in Ramallah at fhodali@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net
