'Next Palestinian gov't HQ will be in Gaza'

Hamas adviser Ahmed Yousef tells 'Al-Quds al-Arabi' time is "ripe" for consensus between Fatah and Hamas.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
PA President Abbas with Hamas PM Haniyeh 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Suhaib Salem)
PA President Abbas with Hamas PM Haniyeh 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Suhaib Salem)
Hamas and Fatah agreed that the next Palestinian government headquarters will be in Gaza, a Hamas official told the London-Based Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper on Friday.
Ahmed Yousef, a political advisor to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Hanieyh, told the newspaper that the time is "ripe" for consensus between the two opposing Palestinian factions.
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The agreement over Gaza indicates the possibility that the next Palestinian leader may also be a Gaza resident.
Yousef continued on to say that all the issues between the opposing Palestinian factions were resolved ahead of a meeting between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal.
Hamas will support Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in his bid to gain Palestinian membership in the United Nations, and also support the establishment of a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 border with Jerusalem as its capital.
In an interview with the Ma'an news agency on Saturday, Yousef said that neither Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh nor Fatah Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will run for prime minister in the next Palestinian elections, Hamas official Ahmed Yousef told Ma'an.
"Ismail Haniyeh and Salam Fayyad were causes of disagreement in the previous stage, and so both will be exempted," Yousef said.
In a post on his Facebook page on Friday, Fayyad wrote, "I am more than ready to leave respectfully," saying that he did not want to be an obstacle "since I am a responsible person and I care."
Praising Fayyad's decision, Yousef said, "Fayyad was subjected to an unjust defamation campaign, and part of it came from Fatah. He just added another element to his accomplishments when he willingly said he would not impose himself."
According to Yousef, Abbas will visit Gaza in the near future.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Bernard Valero said Saturday that the French government supports a reconciliation deal agreement between Hamas and Fatah.
He told the al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that the issue was "urgent."