Abbas puts Fatah-Hamas reconciliation on hold after opposition from Hamas

The Palestinian reconciliation deal between the two rival factions Fatah and Hamas has broken down. "Unity is frozen," Fatah leader and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said at a summit in Baghdad, Iraq where he attended an Arab League summit.  The Palestinian news agency reported ‘Ma’an’ quoted Abbas as saying that he and Hamas leader Khalid Mashal had agreed "on the vision and objectives and conditions in full," but that some Hamas leaders would not accept the agreement signed last May in Cairo. "The ball is now in Hamas' court," Abbas said, according to Ma'an.

Under the agreement, signed last month in Doha, Qatar, the rival factions would form a unity government in preparation for popular elections. ‘Ma'an’ reported that the deal was frozen when Hamas leaders in Gaza rejected the joint decision that Abbas would serve as prime minister of the new unity government.