Amidst division and deep differences on standings, the two rival Palestinian movements, Fatah and Hamas, along with the rest of Palestinian factions, began a new round of dialogue Tuesday in Cairo.

Five committees, which were agreed upon by all factions in meetings held on Feb. 26, will meet to address the issues of forming a unity government, preparing to hold new presidential and legislative elections, reconstructing security forces, reforming the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the reconciliation.

A sixth committee will be formed which will include Egypt and the Arab League along with chairmen of Palestinian factions, named as Supreme Guidance Committee, with its duty to intervene if differences were to occur during the five committees' talks.

Despite optimism and positive signs encompassing the dialogue, analysts believe that the chances of success for the dialogue are still dim due to the complexity and difficulty of the issues needs to be addressed.

What kind of government could be formed

On Saturday, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Interim Government Salam Fayyad submitted his resignation to Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, a move which Fayyad said is aimed at facilitating the process of the dialogue.

But Abbas has asked Fayyad to continue leading the present government until a unity government is formed.

Palestinian observers considered the resignation a sign to proclaim readiness and seriousness of the PNA to engage in and move forward the dialogue.

However, Palestinian officials and observers doubted that the two mainstream factions, Fatah and Hamas, will succeed in forming an internationally accepted government, though Hamas is now considered a terrorist organization by the West.

Analysts said that one of the many obstacles facing the forming of the new government is Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel.

Abbas had stated in the past that he wanted to form a technocrat government which consists independent and professional figures who will supervise the reconstruction of Gaza and prepare for future general elections.

Fatah is hoping that forming a technocrat government will end the boycott imposed on Hamas by the West, thus accelerating the process of Gaza reconstruction.

However, Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha has said that Gaza reconstruction is highly essential but not on the account of disclaiming his party's standings towards the recognition of Israel, because its unchangeable.

Difference in portfolio division

Meanwhile, analysts said that another question regarding the future government is the division of portfolios among the factions.

A Palestinian official, who preferred not to reveal his name, said that, "Hamas demands to hold ten portfolios, out of 24, in the future government and name the prime minister, while Fatah will hold nine, and other factions will have four, which is the same arrangement agreed upon in (the Riyadh-brokered) Mecca agreement."

Dr. Ahmed Youssef, a Hamas official, confirmed that Hamas has formed a list of names suggesting the positions it will assume in the unity government.

He said some of the suggested names submitted by Hamas were not agreed upon by all factions.

Observers anticipated that the difference on the arrangement of government positions could cause delay of forming a unity government.

"If the internal dialogue failed to produce a unity government by the end of this month, it is possible for the PNA to form another interim government," predicted an official close to Fayyad.

Who will lead the future unity government

Most of the Palestinian politicians said the new government is expected to include all factions along with independent figures and could lead to reconciliation and end the division.

It should also deal with Gaza reconstruction and internal reform, ranging from security issues to agreeing on a political mandate that will address both resistance and peace negotiations with Israel, and finally prepare for general elections in the year 2010.

Palestinian political analyst Hani El Masri said such a government should be steered by internationally accepted figures like Salam Fayyad or well known Palestinian business man Munib El Masri.

El Masri said the two candidates are preferred by Abbas.

However, other observers predicted that Hamas will not surrender the prime minister position to any other party.

Hamas officials have claimed that the future unity government would not necessarily deal with critical political issues but just deal with more imminent matters like reconstruction of Gaza and preparing for elections as well as reforming security forces.

Azmi El Sheibi, an official in the de facto Hamas government, predicted that the Islamic movement will nominate two figures if Ismail Haneya, the deposed Hamas prime minister, is rejected.

The two names are likely to be Nasreldein El Shaer or Jamal El Khodary, both independent figures but close to Hamas.

Bassam Salhi, head of Palestinian People's Party, said that to overcome the problem in nominating a new prime minister, there are only two options, either choosing an independent figure, or Abbas himself being the Prime Minister, along with deputies to assist him in leading the government.

But Palestinian experts expressed caution on the suggestion of Abbas leading the government himself, citing that the government will face administrative problems if its leader is also the PNA chairman.

Other obstacles

Palestinian officials pointed out that there are a number of other issues that are no less important than forming a unity government in the process of the dialogue.

These issues include reforming PLO, which could lead to Hamas and Islamic Jihad joining the organization.

This issue, too, can cause the dialogue to reach a dead end, because of the difference in stance between factions that seek peace with Israel and those calling for the destruction of Israel.

Abbas and his Fatah party, which dominates the PLO, are seeking to reach peace deals with Israel.

A high ranking PLO official said, "There can't be a change regarding PLO's standings, and that creates a great gap between the two sides, which means it will be extremely difficult to reach an agreement by the end of current month."

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2009)