Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza said Thursday that he would not serve as the future unity government’s premier, offering a clean slate to those "who want to serve their people."

In remarks in Gaza City, Haniyeh said the international community should respect the agreement and avoid making mistakes of the past, referring to a boycott of a 2007 Hamas-led government.

Hamas and Fatah leaders agreed to accelerate efforts to form a transitional government, in their first private meeting since the signing of a unity deal in Cairo on Wednesday, which formally ended the split between the factions.

Member of Hamas Politburo Izzat Ar-Risheq told Ma’an on Wednesday night details of the meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader in exile Khalid Mash’al.

Following the formation of a transitional government, the leaders said an agreement on a leadership framework would be reached, setting out the agenda for the new cabinet.

The agenda is nominally laid out in the Egyptian Unity Paper signed Wednesday, but the document mandates the approval of this agenda by the secretaries-general of all Palestinian political factions.

Third on the agenda was an agreement to release all of the political detainees in the West Bank.

The unity document requires the formation of a committee to review the cases of alleged political detainees, and ensure that no prisoner with criminal charges is released.

Ar-Risheq said factions would meet this week to lay out the follow-up to the agreement.

(Ma’an News)