Qatar: Arab, international quarters block formation of Palestinian unity government

Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem Al-Thani has affirmed that Arab and international parties had blocked the formation of a Palestinian national unity government.

The minister affirmed in a statement to Al-Jazeera TV network that his country’s mediation to patch the rift between the PA presidency and government did not fail and was still continuing despite presence of difficulties.

He said that the gap between the PA presidency and government was not big but foreign parties, which he did not name, were impeding bridging this gap. He then pointed to the presence of Arab and foreign interventions.

Sheikh Hamad last Monday conferred with PA chief Mahmuod Abbas and premier Ismail Haneyya in Gaza.

The PA information minister, Yousef Rezka, had quoted Sheikh Hamad as saying that certain quarters, which he did not specify, were exerting efforts to foil his mediation efforts.