BREAKING NEWS

Senior official: Abbas to head new unity Palestinian gov't

Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas agreed at a meeting in Qatar on Monday to form a unified government for the West Bank and Gaza Strip headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a senior Palestinian official said.
Abbas would assume the role of prime minister, replacing Western-backed Salam Fayyad, the official said. It was not immediately clear if Fayyad would be a member of the new government or when it would be formed.