DOHA, Apr 27 (AFP): Gaza mediator Qatar said Sunday there was some progress in talks in Doha this week aimed at securing a new truce in the Israel-Hamas war.
Speaking at a news conference, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani reported "a bit of progress", in response to questions about reports of a Thursday meeting in Doha between Israel's Mossad spy agency chief David Barnea and the Qatari prime minister.
"We need to find an answer for the ultimate question: how to end this war. That's, that's basically, I think, the key point of the entire negotiations," Sheikh Mohammed added.
Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, brokered a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza which came into effect on January 19 but which did not bring a complete end to the war.
President Abbas
appoints aide as
potential successor
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas appointed a close aide as the first ever vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Saturday, positioning him as a potential successor to the veteran leader.
Hussein al-Sheikh was appointed by Abbas, 89, after the vice presidency position was created during a convention held in Ramallah this week.
The creation of the post follows years of international pressure to reform the PLO and comes as Arab and Western powers envision an expanded role for Abbas's Palestinian Authority (PA) in the post-war governance of the Gaza Strip.
"Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas appointed Hussein al-Sheikh as a deputy (vice president) of the PLO leadership," a member of the organisation's executive committee, Wasel Abu Yousef, told AFP.
Founded in 1964, the PLO is empowered to negotiate and sign international treaties on behalf of the Palestinian people, while the PA is responsible for governance in parts of the Palestinian territories.