Hamas: Cabinet needs political leaders

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BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A new Palestinian Cabinet should include political representatives from Fatah and Hamas, a Hamas official said Friday.

Ismail Ashqar, speaking in Bethlehem on the West Bank, said Hamas does not agree with President Mahmoud Abbas' plan for a Cabinet composed entirely of technocratic experts, the Ma'an News Agency reported. Ashqar also said any unity government should be approved by the Parliament.

Fatah and Hamas must first work out a reconciliation plan and then present it to other parties, Ashqar said.

Since 2007, Abbas' Fatah Party has governed the West Bank while Hamas controls Gaza.

Abbas met Thursday evening in Cairo with two Islamic Jihad leaders, the general secretary, Ramadan Shalah, and his deputy, Ziad al-Nkhaleh, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.