RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov 11, SPA -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that he hoped to form a coalition government with the Hamas party by the end of the month. Abbas' Fatah party and Hamas, which won Januaryparliamentary elections, have been negotiating for months on forming a national unity government aimed at ending crippling international sanctions on the Palestinian Authority. «I tell my people that we have achieved great progress on the way to forming a national unity government that can end the siege and open the horizons for political solutions that will end the occupation forever,» Abbas said at aceremony marking two years since the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. «I expect, God willing, that this government will see the light of day before the end of this month,» he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. Abbas said that forming a coalition government would open the way for an end to the economic sanctions on the Hamas-led government. «The Palestinian people will not concede any acre of its land, including Jerusalem,» he said. Abbas pledged to «maintain Arafat's will,» he said. Addressing the late leader, he said: «You inspired us by your long national roots, by your wise leadership, by your persistent, honest commitment. That's what fills us with determination to go ahead and fulfill our national goals, the national goals that you worked for.»--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/402240