Special report: Internal situation in Palestine

    GAZA, June 24 (Xinhua) -- A spokesman for the Hamas-led Palestinian government said on Saturday that progress had been made in talks over thorny issues in a statehood proposal that implicitly recognizes Israel.

    Ghazi Hamad told reporters in Gaza that all the Palestinian factions were well aware that their talks on the proposal must come up with an agreement soon, noting progress regarding sticky issues.

    The spokesman said that Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement had reached agreement on most of the details concerning the three key thorny issues including negotiations with Israel, the makeup of a new national unity government and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on land Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war.

    "The remaining issues (under negotiations) are not complicated and can be settled on Saturday or Sunday," Hamad added. The proposal, advocating a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, is widely seen as giving implicit recognition to the Jewish state, which Hamas vows to destroy.

    Palestinian President Abbas has set July 26 for a referendum on the proposal if the factions fail to achieve consensus.

    Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, took hold of the Palestinian government in late March after a sweeping election victory in January. Enditem