Fatah and Hamas poised to name PM
Staff and agencies
Monday November 13, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
The two main Palestinian political factions have agreed on a prime minister to head a national unity government in a move aimed at lifting economic sanction, the Associated Press reported today.
Senior Hamas officials in Syria said Hamas and Fatah had agreed on Mohammed Shabir to head the next Palestinian unity government.
The US-educated Mr Shabir, who was in charge of Gaza's Islamic University until 2005, is considered to be close to the militant group Hamas but not an active supporter.
A Palestinian unity government could be in place by December, the Palestinian president and Fatah leader, Mahmoud Abbas, said last week.
The Palestinian prime minister and Hamas leader, Ismail Haniya, said he was prepared to resign if his departure could end the debilitating aid boycott.
Hamas and Fatah have been arguing for months over the formation of an internationally acceptable unity government.
Israel and the west imposed sanctions on the Palestinian Authority when Hamas, which they consider a terrorist organisation, formed a government after a sweeping victory in legislative elections in March.
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