Palestinian Unity Government Likely to Upset Israel and US

February 06, 2012 from Euronews

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to head an interim unity government. In what is being dubbed the "Doha Declaration," his Fatah faction and Islamist Hamas struck a reconciliation deal, paving the way for elections. Abbas has been talking to Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Qatar. After years of separate Palestinian governments in the West Bank and Gaza, the accord to form a unity administration of independent technocrats was welcomed by senior Palestinians. However, the move is likely to be condemned by Israel and the United States who say the Islamist Hamas cannot be part of any peace efforts.

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Hamas

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist organization, with an associated military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, located in the Palestinian territories. Since June 2007 Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip, after it won a majority of seats in the Palestinian ... Explore this topic

Fatah

Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization, a multi-party confederation. Fatah is generally considered to have had a strong involvement in revolutionary struggle in the past and has maintained a number of milit... Explore this topic

Palestinians

The Culture of Palestine is closely related to those of the nearby Levantine countries such as Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, and the Arab World. Cultural contributions to the fields of art, literature, music, costume and cuisine express the Palestinian experience despite the geo... Explore this topic

Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas, also known by the kunya Abu Mazen, an Arab of the Sunni-Muslim faith, has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket. Mahmoud... Explore this topic

Khaled Mashal

Khaled Mashal, is a Palestinian political leader and the leader of the Hamas political bureau since the assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi in 2004. After the founding of Hamas in 1987, Mashal came to lead the Kuwaiti branch of the organization. He moved from Kuwait to Jor... Explore this topic

Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories or occupied Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In 1993, following the Oslo Accords, parts of the territories politically came under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority. In 2007, the Hamas-ruled Gaza... Explore this topic

Gaza

The Gaza Strip is a territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea that borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north. It is 41 kilometres long, and from 6 to 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of 365 square kilometres. The population of Gaza Stri... Explore this topic

West Bank

The West Bank is a landlocked territory, located in Western Asia. The West Bank shares boundaries to the west, north, and south with the state of Israel, and to the east, across the Jordan River, with the Kingdom of Jordan. The West Bank also contains a significant coastline a... Explore this topic

Middle East Peace Process

The peace process in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has taken shape over the years despite the ongoing violence which has prevailed since the beginning of the conflict. Since the 1970s there has been a parallel effort made to find terms upon which peace can be agreed to in b... Explore this topic

National unity government

A national unity government, government of national unity, or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency. Explore this topic

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Fatah

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