Ismail Haniyeh

The Islamic militant group Hamas has presented its Cabinet to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for his approval.

The group's prime minister-designate, Ismail Haniya, presented the line-up during a meeting late Sunday. Hamas was forced to abandon weeks of efforts to form a coalition government after other political parties refused to join.

Aides to Mr. Abbas say he will not use his executive authority to block the government. But he is expected to press Hamas - which is sworn to Israel's destruction - to moderate its hard-line positions.

In other developments, Israeli and Palestinian officials plan to hold more talks to open up border crossings following talks on the matter with U.S. and Egyptian officials Sunday. Israel closed the main crossing to Gaza for much of the year, and U.N. officials warn food shortages in the territory are approaching crisis levels.

The United States and European Union, along with Russia and the United Nations have called on Hamas to renounce violence and accept existing peace agreements.

The United States and European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization and have threatened to cut funding to the Palestinian Authority unless Hamas meets those demands.

Israel has already cut off the transfer of $50 million in monthly tax payments it collects for the Palestinian Authority and says it will boycott the Hamas-led government.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.