Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday stressed that Egyptian-mediated talks must come out with a national Palestinian agreement leading to a recognized unity government.

"We are determined that the national dialogue, sponsored by Egypt, must succeed and bring a political deal forming a government that would be committed to the agreements signed by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)," Abbas said in a speech in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The government, which is sought to represent Abbas' Fatah party and the Islamic Hamas movement, "should be able to deal with the regional and international environments," Abbas added.

Hamas, Fatah and the rest of the Palestinian factions are scheduled to go again to Cairo next month to continue their talks and to hear the recent compromise formulas from the Egyptian mediators.

Abbas said the unity government's priorities must be "ending the coup, restoring the home's unity, rebuilding the Gaza Strip and preparing for holding presidential and parliamentary elections no longer than January 25th next year."

Hamas took over Gaza in 2007 after routing pro-Abbas forces in what Abbas considered a military coup. He responded by forming a government in the West Bank, effectively increasing the Palestinian political split.

Hamas does not recognize Abbas as a president, saying his term ended at the beginning of this year, but Abbas argues that his term will end in January next year along with the end of the Hamas-dominated parliament.

On Tuesday, Abbas announced a reshuffle that expanded the West Bank-based government, led by Salam Fayyad, sparking criticism by most of the Palestinian groups, including his own Fatah, since the new government was formed during the national dialogue.

Source: Xinhua