Palestinian campaign calls for immediate forming of national unity government

The Palestinian National Initiative party launched a popular campaign Sunday calling for forming a unity government immediately to avoid more internal infighting.

Chief of the National party, lawmaker Mustafa al-Barghouti, told Voice of Palestine radio that the camping was aimed at prompting public pressure on forming a national unity government based on the Prisoners' Document of National Accordance which factions adopted.

"We believe it is possible to come up with a unity government whether it consisted of factions, technocrats or independents," said al-Barghouti, adding that "We have to understand time is running and it is not of our benefit to lose it."

Numerous deals and mediations have failed so far in bridging gaps between President Mahmoud Abbas and the governing Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) over the establishment of a coalition government aiming at lifting the Western siege on the Hamas-led government which subsequently caused grave financial crisis.

The issue of recognizing Israel that appears in every initiative has blocked moves to go ahead with the new government.

Hamas, which calls for destructing the Jewish state, asserts it will never recognize Israel unless the latter withdrew from the Palestinian land it occupied in the 1967 war.

Source: Xinhua