Visiting Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya said on Monday
that dialogue on forming a Palestinian national unity government
should be kept open and continuous.
Haneya made the remarks after meeting with Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad, which he said focused on the issue of the
formation of a Palestinian national unity government, according to
local media here.
"If there are sides on the Palestinian scene wanting to close
the door of dialogue, then they would be the only parties to blame
for any consequences," Haneya was quoted as saying.
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He asserted that forming a unity government is the main demand of
his ruling Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), adding "we have
made all concessions as we want to lift the siege imposed on the
Palestinian people."
Describing talks with the Syrian leaders as good, the
Palestinian premier noted that he briefed Assad on the difficult
conditions the Palestinian people lived in and they discussed how
to cooperate with the Arab and Islamic countries to break the siege
imposed on them.
The Hamas-led government has faced political and economic
sanctions by the West since it took office in March, as it has
rejected international requests of recognizing Israel, renouncing
violence and honoring previous agreements signed with Israel.
Moreover, Palestinian political situation was in a stalemate
again after the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO),dominated
by President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, announced Friday the
suspension of talks with Hamas over the formation of a unity
government.
The PLO also called for the resignation of the incumbent Prime
Minister Haneya, saying conditions set by the Hamas were blocking
the formation of the unity government, underlining the need to name
a new premier and form a technocrat government.
Haneya arrived in Damascus Sunday evening for a two-day visit to
Syria, after he wrapped up trips to Egypt and Qatar on his first
foreign tour as premier, which would also take him to some other
regional countries, including Lebanon, Iran, Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia.
(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2006)
