Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya, head of the Hamas-led government, fended off criticism that a series of conditions he set out for a national unity coalition threatened to thwart the measure.
"We are committed to the understanding with (Palestinian president Mahmud) Abbas to declare a national unity government," Haniya told reporters in Gaza City.
"When I talk about the government, I don't put conditions, but general guidelines," he said without elaborating.
On Friday, Haniya insisted that a Hamas member head the government, and that "all ministers and MPs" from the Islamist party arrested by Israel be freed as a prelude to forming such an administration.
"There will be no national unity government as long as ministers and elected officials are in Israeli prisons," Haniya said during Friday prayers.
Loyalists of Abbas's Fatah faction criticized Haniya for laying out conditions, among them that the Jewish state lift its "siege" imposed on the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli military has conducted a punishing offensive since June 28.
The embattled premier also insisted that "any (national unity) government must be based on the results of the Palestinian legislative election."
Neither could any official implicated in corruption take part in any possible national unity coalition alongside Hamas, Haniya said.
Last Wednesday, Abbas had reported progress in efforts to form a coalition between his once-dominant Fatah party and Hamas, its Islamist rivals that won a sweeping victory in parliamentary elections in January.