Fatah: Govt reshuffle talks delayed until Abbas tour ends

Consultations over an expected reshuffle in the Palestinian Authority are to be delayed until President Abbas finishes as international tour due to start Monday, a senior Fatah official said. Azzam al-Ahmad told Voice of Palestine radio that rumors about a disagreement between Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad over a reshuffle were baseless. The Fatah official, who is in charge of talks with Hamas, also rebuked remarks by Hamas official Salah Bardaweel, who said elections would be delayed by one year, labeling the comments an "attempt to bypass what has been agreed on in Doha." Reconciliation efforts are frozen due to an internal crisis within Hamas and its request to postpone the implementation of the Doha deal, al-Ahmad said. Hamas has not yet responded to a request to allow the central elections committee to operate in the Gaza Strip, he added. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said Monday that any reshuffles, or the creation of new ministries in the Fayyad government, were invalid because they were not approved by the Palestinian parliament or Islamic and nationalist factions. The PFLP called on both governments in Ramallah and Gaza to implement national unity in order to confront Israeli occupation. Abbas is due to start an international tour in Asia next week to mobilize support for the Palestinian Authority, PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said Sunday. The president will visit Japan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, including a visit to areas of Japan devastated by an earthquake in 2011.