DOHA (AFP) -- Palestinian premier Ismail Haniya warned against drawing a line under talks on forming a new government acceptable to Western donors but admitted his Hamas movement was holding out for key cabinet posts.

"We affirm that the door of dialogue remains open. But if some want to close it, they will have to take responsibility for the repercussions," Haniya told reporters in the Qatari capital.

His remarks came a day after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said that talks on forming a national unity government embracing both his secular Fatah faction and Haniya's Islamist movement were officially dead.

Haniya, who came to Qatar from Egypt on his first trip abroad since Hamas took power in March, identified the allocation of key cabinet posts as the chief obstacle in the talks with Fatah.

"The largest parliamentary bloc is supposed to have a presence in important ministerial portfolios. That's the bone of contention," he said.

"There is talk of giving (major posts) to independents, which contradicts parliamentary norms," said Haniya, whose Islamist militant group formed the government after winning parliamentary elections in January.

The European Union,Israel and the United States have imposed a crippling aid freeze on the Palestinian Authority since Hamas took power, citing the movement's continued refusal to renounce the armed struggle or recognize past peace deals with Israel.

Haniya said he did not object to Hamas government members meeting Israeli counterparts to discuss day-to-day affairs.

"But recognizing the legitimacy of occupation? No," he said.

Abbas is now considering a range of options including holding a referendum or fresh parliamentary and presidential elections, aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said.

But Haniya said he was not party to the president's deliberations.