Egypt proposed national unity government for Hamas

Senior Hamas official Usama Hamdan revealed on Sunday that Egypt had proposed a national unity government for his movement, Al-Wattan Voice has reported. Hamdan noted that this is the new Egyptian vision for ending the Palestinian division.

The government would be open to any Palestinian faction which is ready to take part in a transitional period prior to a General Election. According to Hamdan, Hamas accepted this vision along with other ideas, but Fatah responded to it negatively.

The Hamas official pointed out that most of his Fatah counterparts want to end the division, but they cannot make their own decision. He claimed that Fatah’s decisions are monopolised by a small clique led by Mahmoud Abbas. Hamdan insisted that his movement is ready to take part in such a government, in the hope that the Palestinian Authority leader would accept it.

Hamas, concluded Hamdan, was full of hope when Egypt made its proposal for a unity government because it came amid the popular and factional rejection of the US deal of the century and Bahrain Conference. To date, though, the movement has been disappointed by the wider response.

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