WEST BANK: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas hints he might dissolve Hamas-led government

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday (October 4) he might opt to dissolve the Hamas-led government and that unity talks with the Islamist group had broken down. "My constitutional powers, granted by the basic law, will be used in (the appropriate) time," he said at a news conference, in a clear reference to a possible presidential edict to dissolve the government. "We are now serious in going back to work on building a new government, let's say this, and see how we can deal with reality in the coming two weeks," Abbas added at the news conference, held with Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa. "The dialogue now does not exist," Abbas, speaking hours before a scheduled meeting with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said about talks with Hamas. Rice is on a regional visit partly aimed at bolstering the moderate Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas, an Islamic group dedicated to Israel's destruction. "Waiting is not for the sake of waiting, there's horrific events happening on the Palestinian land almost every day and it's important to speed up in ending this crisis and reach a solution through the new government," Abbas said. "Our efforts should come together to achieve a progress in the peace process. The situation is fragile, the situation is dangerous and the situation cannot wait more than that," Al-Khalifa said. In his remarks, Abbas pointedly did not refer to the formation of a unity government, an issue under discussion with Hamas for weeks in talks that have reached a stalemate over policy towards Israel. There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Some officials from Abbas's Fatah faction have urged him to dissolve the Hamas-led government and form a new administration, a move that could lead to civil war. Israel and Western donor nations cut off funds to the Palestinian Authority, deepening economic hardship in the West Bank and Gaza, after Hamas established a government in March after winning election in January. Hamas has rejected international demands to renounce violence and recognise the Jewish state and existing interim peace deals. Rice, who has urged an end to Palestinian in-fighting in which 12 people have been killed in the past week, will meet Israeli leaders after her talks with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah. During her regional trip, she also hopes to win Arab support for the embattled governments in Iraq and Lebanon, where 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas ended in a U.N.-sponsored ceasefire on Aug. Also on Wednesday, in the West Bank city of Qalqiliya hundreds attended a funeral procession for a Hamas leader who was killed earlier on the day. Three masked men shot and killed a Hamas leader as he left a mosque, witnesses said. Mohammed Odeh, 37, was shot dead a day after a rival Palestinian faction threatened to kill senior Hamas members.

ITN Source | October 4, 2006

Tags:. .western. .earlier. .crisis. .attended. .witnesses