Abbas, Mashaal to discuss unity govt in Doha

Fatah leader President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal will meet Sunday in the Qatari capital to review progress on a reconciliation deal between their parties, a Fatah official said. The main issue on their agenda is the formation of a unity government to end four years of separate administrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Azzam al-Ahmad told the official Qatar News Agency. The leaders agreed in Cairo to start serious consultation on the composition of the new government by Feb. 21, Ahmad said. Secretary-general of Fatah Revolutionary Council Amin Maqboul said last week that failure to appoint a new cabinet is the main obstacle to holding elections and proceeding with the deal. After the rival factions signed a reconciliation deal in May 2011, they agreed to hold elections within a year, and appoint an interim government to unite both territories. But the parties sparred for months over the candidate to lead the unity government. After meeting in November to kickstart the stalled deal, Mashaal and Abbas indicated that elections would still be held by May 2012, but Abbas has yet to issue a presidential decree which is required three months prior to the vote. Al-Ahmad, who is part of the Fatah delegation in Qatar, said reconciliation was crucial to face the stalemate in the peace process with Israel. Abbas and Mashaal will review all developments since their November summit, Al-Ahmad said, including the work of the public freedoms committee tasked with resolving political detentions, the issuing of passports in Gaza and other rights violations. They will also discuss PLO reform, including a committee established to prepare for elections to the PLO parliament, he added.