Palestinian factions delay submitting cabinet list

GAZA, March 2 (Reuters) Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas said they need more time and will not announce a line-up of ministers for a unity government as planned today.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas had asked the factions to submit names ahead of a planned meeting tomorrow with President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas and Fatah officials offered no immediate explanation for the delay and it was unclear how long it would last. Both sides promised to accelerate formation of a unity government, fearing opponents would try to use any delay to scuttle the deal.

''We know that both Hamas and Fatah are serious about speeding up the presentation of their chosen candidates for ministerial posts and they could do so within the next two days,'' said Haniyeh aide Ghazi Hamad.

Hamad said he expected Abbas and Haniyeh to meet on Sunday, rather than tomorrow. ''I do not expect major obstacles before the formation of the government,'' he said.

Another Hamas source said the group's list of candidates was almost ready but that Hamas would await decisions by the other factions. He added that it could take a week to finalise the line-up.

A Fatah spokesman said final consultations on his faction's list would be concluded when Abbas arrives in Gaza.

Hamas and Fatah signed a power-sharing deal last month in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that stemmed factional fighting but stopped short of explicitly meeting the three demands of the Quartet of West Asia mediators.

The agreement contains a vague promise to ''respect'' previous Israeli-Palestinian pacts. But it does not commit the incoming government to abide by those pacts, nor to recognise Israel and renounce violence as demanded by Quartet.

Hamas and Fatah have yet to publicly unveil their cabinet choices, though both agreed the incoming finance minister would be Salam Fayyad, a U.S.-educated economist with close ties to the Bush government.

The factions have yet to agree on who would serve as interior minister, a critical post with oversight over several large Palestinian security services.

Likewise, Fatah has yet to say who will serve as deputy prime minister under Haniyeh.

''We expect these steps to be concluded by the end of next week,'' Hamad said.

REUTERS SP ND1634