Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of the Palestinians' ruling Hamas group says he is prepared to resign his position if that's what it would take to get vitally needed western aid restored.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been negotiating with Hamas for months to form a coalition government with his Fatah party, which, unlike Hamas, recognizes Israel and wants to restart peace talks.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of the Hamas group waves to supporters after attending Friday prayers at a mosque in Gaza City Friday.
(Adel Hana/Associated Press)
Officials on both sides have said the two parties are making progress toward concluding an agreement on forming a government of professionals with few prominent political figures.
Haniyeh told worshippers at a Gaza mosque that western powers wanted him out of government, and that he was prepared to step aside in the interest of restoring hundreds of millions of dollars of withheld aid.
"When the issue of the siege is on one side, and my being prime minister is on the other, let the siege be lifted to end the suffering of the Palestinian people," he said.
Western donors and Israel sharply curbed funding to the Palestinian government after Hamas took power in March in an effort to pressure the ruling group to moderate its violently anti-Israel ideology.
The sanctions have prevented Hamas from paying a large portion of the salaries owed to 165,000 government employees, causing widespread hardship in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The international community, including the United States, has said it will not lift sanctions unless Hamas recognizes Israel, renounces violence and accepts past peace deals, something Hamas has so far refused to do.
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