RAMALLAH, June 30 (JMCC) - Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas may seek to delay the implementation of a unity deal with Hamas until after Palestinians seek statehood at the UN in September, an official close to the leader
told the Associated Press Thursday.
PLO leaders underestimated the amount of opposition from the West to a deal with
Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization in Israel and the United States, says the report.
[T]the Palestinian president worries a unity government might be rejected by the West and does not want to wage two diplomatic battles — for recognition of an alliance with the Islamic militants and for a U.N. nod to statehood — at the same time, according to the PLO official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue.
Hamas officials said Thursday they have not received a formal request to put off talks on a government that began in May but have stalled because of disagreement over naming a prime minister.
Abbas said Thursday that negotiations are continuing, but he hinted at difficulties. “I hope that we will succeed, but it needs a little bit of effort,” he told reporters during a visit to the Netherlands.
The PLO decided last week that it will go to the United Nations to ask for statehood, despite warnings by the United States and some other countries against doing so.