Abbas says he hopes US waiting to judge PA gov't

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview that he hoped the United States would give more time before deciding whether to accept or reject the new coalition government he is forming with his rival Hamas. Abbas told the Egyptian pro-government Al Mussawar weekly magazine in its March 2 editions that Washington has reservations about the power-sharing Palestinian government but it is waiting to make a final judgment until after it is formed. "US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had announced after the meeting in Jerusalem that they (the US) would wait for the new government to be formed first, and on what bases this government is being formed. Thus the US is awaiting judgment and not offering an absolute rejection," the magazine quoted Abbas as saying.