Mahmud Abbas to head interim government: Palestinian official

The temporary administration will oversee preparations for presidential and legislative polls to be held by May.

DOHA: Rival Palestinian factions have agreed to name president Mahmud Abbas as head of an interim government to oversee preparations for presidential and legislative elections, a Palestinian official said on Monday.

“An agreement was reached on appointing Mahmud Abbas as prime minister until elections are held,” the official, who is participating in the talks, told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal met on Sunday in Qatari capital Doha to finalise issues arising from a reconciliation agreement signed by the two factions last April. They are expected to meet again on Monday, with a formal announcement expected later in the day.

The official said Hamas and Abbas’ secular Fatah movement had agreed that the “national consensus government will be made up of independents and technocrats and they will be responsible for overseeing the elections.”

He did not say when the elections would take place, but under the terms of the reconciliation deal, parliamentary and presidential elections are both to be held by May.

Hamas, meanwhile, has confirmed that Abbas will be named premier, according to a statement published on a website affiliated with the group. “We have reached initial agreement,” on Abbas’ appointment, the statement said, citing an unidentified Hamas official.

Another Palestinian official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the parties agreed to hold a meeting with “all other Palestinian political factions” in Cairo on February 18, when Abbas’ appointment “will be endorsed”. “That’s when we’ll set the date for the parliamentary and presidential elections,” he said.

Among other major issues to be decided in Cairo are elections for the Palestinian National Council (PNC), the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organisation which does not include Hamas, the official said.

Implementation of the deal has been delayed several times despite repeated meetings between the two parties, but on Sunday they agreed to move speedily ahead with elections.

“We agreed on the importance of holding the elections quickly ... and removing any obstacles that might delay the polls,” said Fatah spokesman Azzam alAhmad, who is with Abbas in Doha.

He said Sunday’s talks, hosted by Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa alThani, were “positive” and that both sides reached an “agreement on all the major issues” regarding the reconciliation accord.

The last Palestinian elections were in 2006 when Hamas beat the previously dominant Fatah to secure more than half the seats in parliament.

Hamas expelled Fatah from Gaza after a week of deadly clashes in June 2007, cleaving the Palestinian territories into rival hostile camps.

Since then, Gaza has been effectively cut off from the West Bank, which is under the control of Fatah.