Gaza (Ma'an) – Fateh announced Wednesday afternoon that it ‘tentatively agrees upon participating in a Hamas government,’ with Ismail Hania at the helm as Prime Minister.
Head of the Fateh bloc in Palestinian Legislative Council, Azzam Al Ahmed, told Ma'an, ‘Fateh has studied the matter seriously and has not refused or accepted the partnership.’
‘However,’ Al Ahmed continued, ‘Fateh does have a tentative direction toward participation in case of agreement on the political program.’ Hamas said from the beginning that it disagreed on Fateh's political platform after President Abbas' speech at the opening PLC session on 18 February.
In a Wednesday press conference held at Hamas Speaker Mahmoud Az Zahar's front door, Al Ahmed said that the meeting between Hamas and Fateh was held only to study the idea of joint-participation. ‘Fateh's decision will be singular,’ assured Al Ahmed.
He continued to say, ‘The Fateh party intends to participate in the government, but only after an agreement is reached on a plan of action.’ He added, ‘There are cases where discussion must take place, including gaining consensus on reform programs.’
Al Ahmed said there are not specific disagreements on this point between the two parties, but there may be differences in understanding the mechanisms.
Mahmoud Az Zahar said that the intention is for partnership among all groups and just as a meeting took place with Fateh, others will be held with additional parties where all points will be recorded.