A PLO committee began talks with both Hamas and Islamic Jihad Saturday morning on the formation of a new Palestinian unity government, according to the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency.
However, Hamas has placed impossible conditions on its participation in the government, a senior Palestinian official reportedly told the official Chinese press agency Xinhua on Saturday.
PLO official Amin Maqbul said the political platform of the unity government must be decided by his faction, which includes conditions Hamas has repeatedly rejected, according to Xinhua.
Ma'an also reported that Hamas on Friday rejected the PLO plan to create a unity government, saying it was not "the right body to form a government".
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday that Hamas and other Palestinian factions would not need to accept the principles of the Middle East Quartet in order to join a government, according to the Middle East Monitor.
Erekat also reportedly opposed alleged indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on a long-term truce, saying the PLO was the only legitimate party in negotiations.
A few days ago Abbas told French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius that there was no place for Hamas in a new government.
The previous unity government was dissolved on June 17, after which PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah ordered Mahmoud Abbas to begin work on forming a new one.
Some argued that the purported indirect talks between Hamas and Israel prompted the move.