GAZA CITY -- Hamas leader and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniya suggested Friday that he would not head a proposed unity government if stepping aside would help to bring back Western aid.
Speaking to worshippers gathered for Friday prayers at a Gaza City mosque, Haniya said the West did not want him to be a part of the new administration and would not lift its embargo unless he is replaced as leader.
"[They have] one condition, that the siege will not be lifted unless the prime minister is changed," Haniya said, according to Reuters. "When the issue is like this, the siege on one hand, the prime minister on the another ... I prefer the siege be lifted and the suffering ended."
The loss of direct international aid to the Palestinian government has caused an economic crisis in the West Bank and Gaza. The unity government is seen as a bid to resume the flow of aid, which is the government's main source of funding.

(CNN) -- Gerald Levert, the R&B singer whose hits included "I Swear" and "I'd Give Anything," as well as chart-toppers with the groups LeVert and LSG, has died, according to his label, Atlantic Records. He was 40.

Levert died of a heart attack Friday at his Cleveland, Ohio, home, according a statement from Atlantic.

"He was one of the greatest voices of our time, who sang with unmatched soulfulness and power, as well as a tremendously gifted composer and an accomplished producer," the statement read. "Above all, he was an exceptional human being whose warmth and grace inspired us all."

Levert, the son of O'Jays member Eddie Levert Sr., first hit it big with his sibling Sean and friend Marc Gordon as the trio LeVert in the mid-'80s. The group's hits included the 1987 song "Casanova," which hit the Top Five on the pop charts.

Gerald Levert went solo in 1991. His hits included a duet with his father, "Baby Hold On to Me."

In 1997 he and singers Johnny Gill and Keith Sweat formed LSG. The group's self-titled album sold more than two million copies, and their hits included "My Body."

More recent albums by Levert included 2002's "The G Spot" and 2004's "Do I Speak for the World."

His most recent album was 2005's "Voices."

Levert had four children.