Haniyeh denies Hamas chose him as Palestinian PM
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-02-17 11:02

A Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, denied on Thursday the militant Islamic group had nominated him as Palestinian prime minister.

"Hamas is still continuing its internal consultations to determine who will be asked to head the coming government," he told Reuters after a senior Hamas official said the movement's newly elected Hamas legislators had chosen Haniyeh.

"Such an important position requires consultations between leaders in the (Palestinian) territories, in prisons and in exile. Nothing official has been reached so far, and when a decision is made, it will be published," Haniyeh said.

Earlier, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, a senior Hamas official said the newly elected Hamas lawmakers decided after consultations with colleagues in the Gaza Strip to pick Haniyeh as prime minister.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Hamas has yet to make a formal announcement.

Asked about Haniyeh's denial, the official said: "I am surprised, because we have agreed."

Haniyeh, 43, has been widely expected to get Hamas's nod to become prime minister following the group's sweeping victory in the January 25 parliamentary election over the long-dominant Fatah faction of President Mahmoud Abbas.

Many Palestinians view Haniyeh as a pragamatist who has forged good relations with rival factions.