A Fatah official said in Ramallah on Monday that the Palestinian transitional government will be formed in middle February after factions agreed in Doha that President Mahmoud Abbas will head the interim ruling body.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani (C) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal attend a signing ceremony in Doha, on February 6, 2012. Abbas will head an interim national consensus government under a deal signed in Qatar between Abbas and Meshaal , ending a long-running disagreement that had stalled Palestinian reconciliation. [Xinhua/AFP]

The understanding reached between Abbas and Hamas' chief Khaled Mashaal is that the government will be formed in middle February, said Nabil Shaath, a member of Fatah Central Committee.

Abbas and Mashaal reached the deal on Monday, the second day of intensive talks they held in Doha under Qatar's auspices.

Within a week, the discussions will focus on selecting the government's members, Shaath told Xinhua. The ministers would be independents, but Hamas, Fatah and all Palestinian groups will participating in nominating them.

"The formation of the government of understanding practically means the end of separate presence of two governments respectively in Gaza and the West Bank," Shaath said, adding that "this is the first serious step toward ending the internal split."

The Doha declaration by Abbas and Mashaal enables the Palestinian rivals to implement the agreement that Egypt brokered in May. At the time, Abbas wanted to retain his West Bank-based Premier Salam Fayyad for the post of the interim government, but Hamas strongly opposed it.

Shaath said that the appointing of Abbas to the government was "positive because several problems can be avoided," including a possible international isolation on the government if it was headed by someone seen as a pro-Hamas.

The new government is expected to rule the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-ruled West Bank until general elections are held. The Palestinian factions initially scheduled the elections in May 2012.

The broader agreement that Egypt brokered aims to end the Palestinian political split, which started when Hamas routed pro- Abbas forces and took over Gaza in 2007.

Fayyad, the West Bank premier, and Hamas' Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haneya have welcomed the Doha declaration.