Ramallah, West Bank
Palestinian parties tentatively agreed this week to form a unity government, bringing the secular Fatah party into a coalition with the ruling Islamist Hamas party. They proposed Mohammed Shabir, a U.S.-educated microbiologist with no party affiliation, as prime minister. The Palestinian government is hoping that the move will spur the U.S. and the E.U. to resume aid. The West cut off funding when Hamas took power earlier this year because Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist. But a breakthrough is doubtful, because Hamas says the new government still will not recognize Israel or accept a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. Israel said those conditions are not negotiable. "The issue is not who is sitting in the government, but what the government says," said Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
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