GAZA CITY, 17 February 2007 — Caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh set about the task of forming a new coalition government with Fatah moderates yesterday. He hoped that his new Cabinet would be in place in less than three weeks, despite unresolved internal disputes and a reported warning of a US boycott.

In quick succession Thursday, Haniyeh and his government resigned and President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah appointed him to form the new team, based on last week’s agreement in the holy city of Makkah to split power between the two rivals.

Haniyeh has five weeks to put together a new Cabinet. During that period, Hamas and Fatah need to resolve deep divisions over control of the security forces and whether to dismantle a separate Hamas militia. In a sermon Friday at a Gaza City mosque, Haniyeh said he hoped to form a new government well before the deadline. “We hope the government will be formed in less than three weeks and presented to the esteemed Parliament” for approval, he said.

However, even if the coalition is formed, it appears increasingly unlikely it will win international backing. The new government’s political program falls short of a key condition by the international community, explicit recognition of Israel. Instead, it contains a vague promise to “respect” international agreements, at best implying recognition.

Hamas is considered a terror group by the US, the EU and Israel, and the Hamas-led government was targeted by a crippling international aid boycott.

Abbas aides said Thursday that US officials made it clear that Washington would boycott the emerging Palestinian government, including independent and Fatah Cabinet ministers. Abbas, elected separately, would not be included in such a boycott, the aides said.

Speaking to reporters in Washington on Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not say the US would boycott the new government, though she said she has seen no evidence that it intends to meet the international demands. Peace efforts were “obviously more complicated because of the uncertainties surrounding the national unity government,” she said.

However, Rice said, she would reserve judgment until the government is formed. “Talking about recognizing or not recognizing the government” is premature, Rice said. “There isn’t one yet. When there is one, the United States will make a determination.” Rice spoke ahead of a trip to the Middle East for a three-way summit with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday.

Initially billed as a step toward resuming peace talks, frozen for more than six years, the summit will now likely be overshadowed by the disagreements over the Palestinian government.

Abbas will meet today with David Welch, a senior US official, and tomorrow with Rice, in part to try to persuade them to change their position.

In a related development, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, an imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, yesterday urged all leaders, countries, organizations and people to prevent Israel’s aggression on Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest in Islam.

He hoped that the Makkah accord reached by Palestinian leaders thanks to the efforts of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, would lead to a joint and effective action against the Israeli designs on Al-Aqsa.

Delivering his Juma sermon, Sudais urged the Palestinians to uphold their accord, realizing the hopes and aspirations of the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims. “The unity will make you strong and optimistic,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the imam as telling the Palestinians.

— With input from agencies