The newspaper said citing a high-level Palestinian representative as saying that Egypt had informed all of the Palestinian movements invited to talks in Cairo on February 22 of the need to create a transitional government no later than April.
Egypt is acting as a mediator in the talks between the pro-presidential Fatah movement and Islamist Hamas as both sides do not communicate directly.
It is expected that once a new government has been formed it will immediately begin preparations for elections of a new head of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and members of parliament set for January 2010.
One of the main tasks of the new cabinet will be to coordinate efforts to rebuild the Gaza Strip which was destroyed during a three-week Israeli military operation that left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Hamas has spoken out in favor of all Palestinian factions being involved in the cabinet, while, political rivals Fatah insists on a "technocratic" government. Egypt has suggested forming the cabinet of ministers from various movements, but "without any dominant names."
Over the past several weeks there have been three meetings between the Fatah and Hamas movements moderated by Egypt. The Palestinians have said that the meetings have "broken some ice" between the opposing factions.
The Hamas and Fatah movements, the largest political organizations, split in June 2007 when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip and pushed the Fatah movement out of the enclave of 1.5 million. Hamas has since remained in power in Gaza, independent of the officially recognized government of Fatah in the West Bank, which is headed by Mahmoud Abbas.
The first expanded meeting for inter-Palestinian dialogue is scheduled to take place on February 22 in Cairo.
