Mohammad Shbair speaks on the phone inside his office in Gaza November 13, 2006.Rival Palestinian factions were close to agreeing on Monday on a new prime minister to replace Ismail Haniyeh, but the candidate required the endorsement of President Mahmoud Abbas to be made final, officials said. Negotiators from the Islamist group Hamas and its more moderate rival Fatah said separately they were near agreement that Mohammad Shbair, the former head of the Islamic University in Gaza, should replace Haniyeh. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA)
Remembering Arafat : Palestinian children, wearing chequered scarves and shirts bearing the picture of later Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, carry wreath during a parade in their Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in the Lebanese southern port city if Sidon, to mark the second anniversary of the death of their historical leader. (AFP/Mahmoud Zayat)