A senior member of the Fatah movement yesterday accused Hamas of being unwilling to form a national coalition government.

"Hamas is neither eager nor interested in a coalition government, (and) I am confident of that," Azzam al-Ahmed, head of the Fatah members in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC),told "Voice of Palestine" in a radio interview.

His comment came one day after Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya, also a senior Hamas leader, told representatives of Palestinian factions excluding Fatah that he is still willing to form an expanded coalition government.

"I think that the idea of forming a collation government appeared by chance during the meeting which was basically aimed at consulting over the ongoing financial crisis," al-Ahmed said.

Meanwhile, Hamas government spokesman Ghazi Hamad denied al-Ahmed's comment, saying that the door was still open for Palestinian factions to take part in the government.

"We need more talks to settle differences in the political agenda," said Hamad.

"The difference gap is not wide, and it is not an obstacle in the way towards forming a national collation government," Hamad said.

Hamas solely formed a new Palestinian cabinet and took office on March 29 after attempts to form a coalition government failed.

Fatah, the previously ruling political party, was defeated by Hamas in January's parliamentary elections.

The newly-installed Hamas cabinet is currently facing a formidable financial crisis and diplomatic isolation.

The United States, the EU and Israel have severed financial aid and diplomatic ties with the Hamas government since Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept previous Palestinians-Israeli agreements.