GAZA, March 15 (UPI) -- Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh Thursday released the outline of a new unity government, which he said could usher in a new era for Palestinians.
"We hope that this government will mark the start of a new era and enable us to turn the page," said Haniyeh, who would remain as Palestinian Authority prime minister with Azzam al-Ahmed, head of Fatah's parliament bloc becoming deputy prime minister, Alalam reported.
A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas who heads Fatah, Nabil Abu Rudeina, urged the world to give the new unity government a chance. But in Jerusalem, some members of the Israeli Knesset appeared unwilling to do so.
Knesset member Yisrael Katz demanded Prime Minister Ehud Olmert end all Israeli contacts with the new Palestinian government and with Abbas, YNetNews reported.
"The platform of the Palestinian unity government, agreed to by Abbas, calls for the continuation of the armed struggle against Israel until the end of the occupation and until the implementation of the Right of Return, whose real meaning is the annihilation of the State of Israel," Katz said.
