Monday, September 11 2006 11:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Gaza: A meeting between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniya ended in Gaza without a deal on forming a coalition government, official sources said. However, Ghazi Hamad, spokesman of the Hamas-led government, said that the meeting late Sunday was positive. Hamad told reporters in Gaza that the meeting in Gaza City lasted several hours and that there were many issues related to forming a coalition that the two leaders had overcome. Haniya heads the government led by the Islamist militant movement Hamas, which scored an overwhelming victory in elections earlier this year. Abbas leads the rival Fatah movement, which dominated Palestinian politics for decades before being driven into opposition in the latest elections. "The meeting was positive and fruitful. The atmosphere was encouraging and satisfactory and goes into the right direction," said Hamad.

"Many obstacles had been overcome, and both agreed to hold another meeting soon," he said. According to sources at Abbas' headquarters, the talks with Haniya were focused on the recent meetings by Abbas with European diplomats, including the German, Italian and Russian foreign ministers. The official sources said the political platform of the national unity government had shadowed the talks between Abbas and Haniya.