Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas has given the rival Hamas faction roughly two weeks to wrap up negotiations on a future coalition government, his top adviser said Thursday.

Abbas is trying to set up a government acceptable to the West, either in a power-sharing arrangement between the Islamic militant group and his Fatah movement, or by appointing independent technocrats. Hamas, branded a terror group by Western governments, has balked at Western demands to renounce violence and recognize Israel.

If the negotiations fail, Abbas' inclination would be to "go back
to

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to the people," the head of Abbas' office, Rafiq Husseini, said. This could mean calling a referendum on whether to hold new elections, or simply deciding to call for the elections, Husseini said. However, Abbas does not appear to have the right to call new elections under Palestinian law.

"People have elected both him and Hamas on different programs, and therefore he feels instinctively that the best thing for him to do is go back to his people," Husseini said in an interview at Abbas' headquarters.

Abbas' aides said privately that the chairman has set a two-week deadline for negotiations with Hamas. Asked about the rigidity of the deadline, Husseini said, "the president does not like lengthy negotiations, lengthy discussions ... and therefore he has to put deadlines."

"I think everybody is talking about a deadline of a couple of weeks ... and I think this must be true," Husseini said.

Hamas: Preliminary deal on coalition secured
The head of the Hamas faction in the Palestinian Authority parliament, Salah Bardawil, has told Haaretz that a preliminary agreement had been reached between the factions on a unity government. According to Bardawil, each party will choose technocrats to represent it in the cabinet, but they will not be ordinary politicians.

"The number of ministers [from each faction] will be determined by the size of the faction in parliament, and a special committee to be composed of representatives of all the factions will approve their suitability. The prime minster will be selected by Hamas, and Abu Mazen [PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] does not oppose this," Bardawil said.

"However, there is an understanding that the next prime minister will not come from the senior political leadership of Hamas," he said.

Palestinian sources told Haaretz the two sides were discussing the possibility of appointing an individual to the premiership who was identified with Hamas, but not a member of the organization. The name of the present minister of planning, Samir Abu-Aysha, has come up in this context.

Palestinian member of parliament Mustafa Barghouti is mediating between PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Abbas. He met Abbas Thursday in Ramallah and will travel Friday to Gaza for talks with Haniyeh.

Report: Hamas steps up demands on Shalit deal
Hamas is demanding that Israel release 300-400 Palestinian women and minors in advance of the release of captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, a senior Hamas official said Thursday.

Imad al-Alami, the head of a Hamas delegation currently in Cairo to discuss the prisoner swap, told the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat that only once this stage is completed will Hamas release Shalit, in exchange for an additional 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

This demand marks a toughening of the group's demands and creates new obstacles for securing the deal, contradicting reports Wednesday that progress has been made on the issue.

On Wednesday, a senior official involved in talks on Shalit's release said the negotiations in Cairo - between representatives of Hamas and an Egyptian team, headed by intelligence chief General Omar Suleiman - had made significant progress.

The official refused to divulge to Haaretz information about the nature of the progress in the talks.

The East Jerusalem newspaper Al-Quds also reported Wednesday that progress had been made, saying Shalit would be released in exchange for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

According to the paper, Shalit would be transferred to the Egyptians, followed less than 48 hours later by the release of 640 inmates from Israeli prisons, among them women and minors. One to two months later Israel would release an additional 630 prisoners, some of whom have served more than 20 years.