By Xinhua
Ramallah : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas tends to ask acting premier Salam Fayyad to form an expanded government to take office away from the disabled Hamas-held parliament, local Maan news agency reported on Monday.
Azzam al-Ahmad, a spokesman for Abbas’ Fatah movement, was quoted as saying that the Palestinian president verbally discussed this issue with Fayyad at the latter’s office in Ramallah. When it is formed, the new government will take oath without gaining confidence from the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)which has been inactive due to differences between Hamas, which won the parliamentary elections in 2006, and Fatah.
The current government took office last June after Hamas routed pro-Abbas security forces in Gaza fighting and took over the coastal Gaza Strip.
Fayyad’s acting government rules from the West Bank while the deposed Hamas administration rules the strip.