Fatah leader due in Gaza to finalise reconciliation deal

The Fatah leader charged with finalising negotiations on forming a Palestinian national unity government will arrive in Gaza on Monday to meet with representatives of Hamas.

"Azzam al-Ahmad will arrive in Gaza on Monday and meet with Hamas officials to put final touches on the national accord government," Amin Maqboul, secretary-general of Fatah's revolutionary council, told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.

Al-Ahmad had been expected to arrive in Gaza on Sunday to resume talks with Hamas leaders on the new government, but Maqboul said the visit was postponed by a day due to al-Ahmad's participation in welcoming Pope Francis of the Vatican during his visit to the West Bank.

Hamas and Fatah agreed a reconciliation deal in Gaza on 23 April, ending an intra-Palestinian split dating back to 2007. The deal calls for the formation of an interim national unity government to serve until legislative elections are held in the occupied West Bank and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

Reports last week said current Palestinian premier Rami Hamdallah will head the consensus government, according to officials who spoke to the AFP.

"The government is nearly ready, and Rami Hamdallah will be prime minister," the official close to the reconciliation negotiations told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas "informed Mr Hamdallah yesterday (21 May) that he would head the government," the official said.

Hamdallah is the prime minister of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, while in Gaza the Hamas prime minister is Ismail Haniya.

Hamas "had no objection" to the decision, said Bassem Naim, an adviser to Haniya.