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Abbas designates PM Rami Hamdallah to head new Palestinian unity cabinet
Sources close to talks between Hamas and Fatah say main dispute is over who should be foreign minister. Haniyeh may head Legislative Council.By Reuters | May 29, 2014
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday asked Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to head a new national unity government which will bring together the feuding Hamas and Fatah parties.
The announcement satisfies a five-week deadline following the groups' reconciliation pact on April 23, but the two sides have yet to publish a list of ministers drawn from independent technocrats, suggesting that disagreements persist.
"This letter designates Doctor Rami Hamdallah to form a new transitional government. I wish him luck in this difficult task which he will undertake," Abbas said in a swift ceremony with the prime minister at his side.
Last week, an official close to the Palestinian reconciliation negotiations told AFP on condition of anonymity that Hamdallah had been tapped to lead the interim government, not Abbas.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.596119