Well-informed sources close to the Islamic Hamas movement said early Saturday that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) informed Hamas Friday night that it would join a new cabinet led by Hamas.

The sources told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the two sides agreed to continue talks over the matter. The PFLP gained three seats in the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).

Hamas won 74 seats in the Jan. 25 election and it selected its senior leader Isma'eel Haneya to be prime minister-designate, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas commissioned him to form a new cabinet.

According to the law, Haneya has five weeks to form the cabinet. If Haneya fails to form the cabinet, Abbas has to commission another party in the parliament to do so.

Hamas sources said Haneya is scheduled to declare on Saturday that he would have formed the cabinet.

The Fatah movement, which gained 46 seats in the PLC, refused to join a Hamas-led cabinet, saying that the new cabinet's political platform contradicts the Fatah's program.

Earlier reports said three minor parties in the PLC also refused to join Hamas-led cabinet, saying Hamas' political platform does not recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

Source: Xinhua