Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said this evening he had to make a decision soon on the future of the Hamas-led government.
Mr Abbas has suggested he would sack the government and said talks on forming a unity coalition with the Islamist movement were dead over its refusal to soften its stance toward Israel.
"In the near future we need to reach options that will allow us to get out of this crisis as soon as possible ... It is impossible to remain in this situation," Mr Abbas told a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
