Special report: Internal situation in Palestine

    GAZA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haneya are to meet in the Gaza Strip on Thursday evening to continue talks on forming a national unity government, a lawmaker said.

    Mustafa al-Barghouti, the independent lawmaker who is acting as a mediator between Fatah and Hamas movements in coalition formation, told reporters that he arranged today's meeting after talking with the two leaders separately.

    "The remaining issues are few compared with those that have been settled," said al-Barghouti, adding the meeting is going to focus on the distribution of portfolios between the factions.

    Hamas and Fatah have agreed on sharing major posts in the new coalition government comprising 24 portfolios according to their parliamentary percentage.

    The Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, which has the majority at the parliament, will get around nine portfolios while Fatah will control between five to six.

    However, the disagreement of the two groups focused on sharing the four major portfolios of foreign, interior, finance and information ministries.

    Earlier, al-Barghouti confirmed the new unity government would be announced before the end of this month despite remarks by Abbas' aides that talks were hardly progressing.

    Abbas aides sparked controversy on Monday as they announced suspension of the mutual talks between the two rival factions, though hours later both Hamas and Abbas' spokesman confirmed talks were not suspended.