Hamas yesterday said its presentation of a new Palestinian government for parliamentary approval next week would force the group to miss a two-day Arab summit due to begin on Tuesday."Hamas will not participate in the Arab Summit in Sudan because some Palestinian parties have delayed the measures related to the presentation of a Hamas government to parliament," Mohammad Nazzal, a Hamas leader, said.

Hamas, winner of the Palestinian parliamentary election in January, is to present its cabinet to the legislature on Monday. The parliament would then debate the line-up and later hold a vote of confidence.

Nazzal said the parliamentary proceedings could take days. "It means ... that no one from the Hamas government will attend the summit," he said.

In a report on Sunday, Yemen's state news agency said Hamas expected Arab states that have pledged financial aid to a Hamas-led administration to specify the amount of funds they will give when they meet in Khartoum next week.

Nazzal accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faction was crushed in the January 25 poll, of effectively blocking Hamas's participation by delaying the moves to approve the government.

The announcement came as Israeli aircraft shot dead two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip early yesterday, sources on both sides said.

The Islamic Jihad group, which has carried out the last seven attacks on Israeli targets, named the killed Palestinians as Mahmud Salah Ayad, 25, and Fares Sofian Abu Gharaba, 24, and confirmed they were trying to carry out an attack.

The Israeli military said the two men were part of a three-man commando, of whom the third escaped, and added that a 30-kg bomb had been recovered from the scene close to the border with Israel.

Bird flu

The discovery of deadly bird flu in both Israel and Palestine, however, pushed the two sides to work together despite plummeting relations.

Israel yesterday confirmed that the H5N1 strain that is dangerous to humans had been found in poultry in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, hot on the heels of its detection in both the Gaza Strip and six farms inside Israel.

Israeli officials said co-operation with the Palestinians on bird flu so far had been "strong and tight" and said a way needed to be found for that to continue even after a Hamas-dominated government takes power on Monday.

PHOTO CAPTION

Hamas Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh (2nd-R) inaugurates a Palestinian foundation in Gaza, March 23, 2006. (REUTERS)