Mousa Abu Marzook.

Hamas will not rule out running for all positions in the Palestinian Authority, Hamas’s current deputy chief Moussa Abu Marzook told Egypt’s Al-Hayat daily.

Marzook also told the daily that reconciliation efforts with rival Fatah were being held up by a disagreement between the two sides on the best way to move forward with elections. Fatah wants to hold general elections as a first step. Hamas, however, is  insisting on the formation of a unity government before elections go forward.

Marzook also reaffirmed Hamas’s opposition to Israel, telling Al-Hayat that “We have no objection to talking with the Americans, but we refuse to talk with Israel.”

Abu Marzook  is expected to be named the new chief of Hamas next week by  the Shura Council, Hamas’s highest consultative body. It is set to meet in Doha to nominate the head of Hamas’s political bureau following the withdrawal from the race of the Islamist organization’s  current prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh. Al-Hayat reported that the meeting was originally slated to take place in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, but was relocated to Qatar “for security reasons.”