Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday he had began holding talks about forming a new Palestinian national unity government, the official news agency Wafa reported.
The Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, quickly rejected the announcement, describing it as a "unilateral" move, DPA reported.
Abbas, who made the announcement from Italy while on his way to an official visit to Austria, said he would disclose the composition of the new cabinet and set an election date as soon as he completes his consultations. He did not specify a time limit.
His statement came two weeks after prime minister Salam Fayyad resigned.
Hamas complained that Abbas should have talked with all political factions before making the announcement, rather than "act unilaterally in deciding the steps, mechanism and dates to achieve reconciliation."
"We were caught by surprise by Abbas' announcement," Hamas official Salah Bardawil told a pro-Hamas news site. "It is not proper to take unilateral decisions without agreement."
Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf noted that Abbas had merely announced that he was starting consultations rather than finalizing the composition of a new government.
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