PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas’s plans to form a new caretaker government yesterday ahead of reconciliation talks with Hamas have been torpedoed by his own Fatah faction.
During a meeting late on Tuesday, Fatah’s parliamentary faction demanded a delay until the conclusion of the coming round of Egyptian-brokered negotiations that are aimed at reconciling Fatah, which administers West Bank Palestinians, and Hamas which rules Gaza.
“We will not be used by Hamas as a pretext for the failure of the dialogue,” Azzam Ahmad, head of the Fatah bloc, said. The dialogue resumes on May 16th.
Hamas had warned that the establishment of a new government would finish off talks which most Palestinians hope will reunite the West Bank and Gaza, at odds since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007.
Fatah put forward several demands which appear to signify a revolt against Mr Abbas, the movement’s overall chief. Fatah insists on being consulted on the composition of a government which, Mr Ahmad said, should be submitted to the party’s central committee for approval. Fatah also rejected the president’s choice of incumbent Salam Fayyad to head the proposed 24-member Palestinian Authority cabinet, which was named on Tuesday without approval of those asked to serve.
“If a government of [political] factions is formed, it is better to have the prime minister from the biggest of the [Palestinian Liberation Organisation] factions, which is Fatah,” stated Mr Ahmad. He threatened that the bloc would boycott the proposed government and go into opposition if Fatah’s demands were not met.
Fatah legislators convened an urgent meeting after all other factions rejected posts in the proposed government. Since Mr Fayyad, a respected independent and former World Bank official, is also Washington’s choice for premier, Fatah’s stand is not only a blow to Mr Abbas but also to the US.
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