Unity govt in three weeks: Haniyeh

The incoming Palestinian government and its stance on key conditions are likely to top Monday’s three-way talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Abbas and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Keen to allay concerns in the West, which boycotts Haniyeh’s Hamas movement as a terrorist group, the moderate Abbas has stressed that the question of negotiations with Israel will remain his exclusive domain.

Israel, meanwhile, continued to express scepticism about Abbas’ power-sharing agreement with Hamas, ahead of the first meeting between Abbas and Olmert since December.