Special report: Israel launches Gaza assault

Special report:Internal situation in Palestine

    GAZA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Hamas-led government on Saturday conditioned formation of any national unity government on ending Israeli siege imposed on the Palestinian government and people.

    "There will be no formation of a national unity government until President Mahmoud Abbas gets U.S. and Israeli guarantees to end the siege," Information Minister Yousef Rezqa said.

    "President Abbas had gotten parts of guarantees, but he might need more time to make sure of the results."

    The Hamas-led government has faced political and economic sanctions since it took office in March, as Hamas rejects three conditions of recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and honoring previous agreements signed with Israel.

    The conditions were set by the Quarter Committee comprising Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.

    "The president and the government are discussing a suitable political platform for a new government, mainly issues on resistance and peaceful solutions," Rezqa said.

    He said that a new national unity government, which is expected not to be headed by incumbent Prime Minister Ismail Haneya from Hamas, would concentrate on resolving internal issues.

    "Security chaos and Israeli siege will be major subjects for the new government," Rezqa said. "The coming few days would witnesses more intensive dialogues between Fatah (led by Abbas) and Hamas to finalize the formation of the new government.

    Abbas and Haneya have been engaged in on-and-off talks for months to form a unity government to replace incumbent Hamas-led one to end the current political and economic crises in the Palestinian territory.

    On Wednesday, Haneya suspended the talks in the wake of a deadly Israeli artillery bombardment on the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. ¡¡