Isma’il Hanniya, the Hamas leader who serves as the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister, offered a more optimistic reply to P.A. Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas’ assessment that talks had returned "back to zero." ‘Abbas offered his evaluation on Saturday after Hamas reiterated that it would not join a government that recognized Israel. But in the Gaza Strip, Haniyya told reporters that,"There is a real hope that it will succeed," and said that negotiations to form a national unity government "will resume." ‘Abbas will visit Gaza early this week to resume talks with Hamas. Hamas continues to refuse to recognize Israel or the interim agreements that previous governments signed with Israel.