Palestinian unity deal threatened by row over prison ministry
 

The formation of a Palestinian unity government faced a last-minute hitch on Monday, jeopardising a long-awaited reconciliation deal between President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamist group Hamas. Abbas was due to swear in the new administration later in the day in a ceremony that Palestinians hoped would mark the end of years of quarrelling between Hamas, which governs Gaza, and secular nationalist parties that hold sway in the West Bank. However, Hamas has an**unced that it will **t support the government because of a decision by Abbas to scrap the Ministry for Prisoner Affairs and replace it with a committee that will fall outside the control of the cabinet. Palestinians view the detainees as freedom fighters while Israel de**unces them as terrorists.

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