GAZA CITY, 19 November 2006 — Moving forward in talks on a unity government, the rival Hamas and Fatah movements were tackling the distribution of Cabinet ministries, negotiators said yesterday.
Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Shaer told reporters yesterday in the West Bank city of Ramallah that an agreement has been reached on most of the issues over the formation of the unity government.
“The deal is almost done and President Mahmoud Abbas will announce the formation of the government when he meets with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh,” he said.
The outgoing Hamas-led government, meanwhile, said a UN resolution calling for an end to Israeli military strikes in Gaza did not go far enough, and that sanctions must be imposed on Israel. Two Palestinians, ages 21 and 16, were killed by Israeli troops operating in northern Gaza yesterday.
As part of the coalition talks, Abbas and Haniyeh were to meet for a third consecutive day yesterday.
Both sides hope a government of experts who have ties to, but are not members of Hamas and Fatah, can bring about an end to a crippling international aid boycott, imposed after Hamas came to power nine months ago.
Negotiators have agreed on a new prime minister — Mohammed Shabir, the former president of the Islamic University in Gaza City — but differences were expected over the distribution of Cabinet portfolios. The treasury and the Interior Ministry, with its control over the security forces, were likely to be hotly contested.
Last week, negotiators decided that Hamas gets to appoint nine Cabinet ministers and Fatah six.
Palestinian officials say the US, which has led international opposition to Hamas, and the European Union are ready to accept the new government. But in Washington, State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said it was too early to say. “We haven’t seen the proposal. It hasn’t been presented to us,” he said.
In Israel, meanwhile, the new deputy prime minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said Israel should ignore Abbas, wipe out the Hamas leadership and walk away from the US-backed road map peace plan. Lieberman was laying out his views on the conflict with the Palestinians in an interview with Israel Radio.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert forged an alliance with Lieberman, one of Israel’s most divisive politicians, last month to shore up his shaky coalition. The inclusion of Lieberman raised concern that Olmert’s government would freeze all peace efforts. Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin, had no comment yesterday on Lieberman’s remarks.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, a top Abbas aide, said Lieberman is stuck in the past and that his ideas “are a recipe for the continuation of bloodshed, violence, extremism and hatred between the two sides.”
In Gaza, the Hamas government said it was dissatisfied with the UN General Assembly’s call for an end to military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The resolution, passed in a special emergency session Friday, did not go far enough, said government spokesman Ghazi Hamad. “The ongoing Israeli attacks on the Palestinian civilians are war crimes that violate international law. Therefore, sanctions must be imposed on Israel,” he said in a statement.
Israel’s UN ambassador had blasted the resolution as a “farce” and a “circus.”
The Arab League had asked for the session after the United States vetoed a similar, but watered-down UN Security Council draft resolution against Israel’s actions last weekend. There are no vetoes in the General Assembly and the chamber’s resolutions are nonbinding, considered more a reflection of international opinion.
In Gaza, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli Army fire in northern Gaza. The Israeli Army said troops operating in the area opened fire when they spotted an armed man a few meters away. Palestinian officials said he was a member of the security forces, wearing a uniform, but not carrying a weapon. Three Palestinian farmers were wounded by army fire in the same area, Palestinian officials said.
Also yesterday, a 16-year-old boy was shot dead by troops in a separate incident, and two men were wounded, security officials said. The Israeli military had no comment.
In a separate incident, the army said it opened fire at a group of gunmen who approached soldiers in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya. It said two gunmen were shot. Palestinian hospital officials said the men were in serious condition.
— With input from agencies
