Fatah has decided not to join a government being formed by Hamas, Fatah officials said on Friday. According to Reuters, the decision was made by Fatah's ruling Central Committee late on Thursday, said the officials. On its part, Hamas said it would finalize its cabinet on Saturday and submit the names to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"The government will be ready tomorrow with its formation and its ministers but we will not announce the government before we hand it over to the president," Hamas spokesman Salah al-Bardaweel said on Friday.
Meanwhile, Khaled Mashal, the political bureau chief of Hamas, said the formation of a government is a way for Hamas to render services to the Palestinian nation, adding that the movement seeks to establish an independent Palestine. According to him, Hamas entry into political arena would not stop resistance and politics is only a tool for freedom of Palestinians.
