GAZA CITY, 13 February 2007 — Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh returned to the Gaza Strip yesterday through the Rafah Crossing that was opened early in the morning for Palestinian travelers.
Haniyeh told reporters at the crossing that his government planned to resign in the coming days to start the process of forming the new national unity government. “We are convinced of the necessity of speeding up the resignation to within days, possibly Wednesday, Thursday or Friday,” he said.
Under the accord reached in Makkah, the Hamas-led government will resign and Haniyeh will start forming the new national unity government.
Senior Palestinian officials acknowledged that previous deal breakers, such as control over the security forces and the fate of Hamas’ militia, have still not been resolved.
Under the power-sharing deal, the coalition government will also include rival Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The two sides have agreed to a division of Cabinet posts, but have not yet reached agreement on the names of most of the government ministers.
One unresolved issue is who will be interior minister and thus exert considerable control over the security forces. Wrangling over such control helped spark deadly Hamas-Fatah clashes in Gaza in recent months.
The deal also did not settle the fate of Hamas’ 5,600-strong militia, which was formed last year over Abbas’ objections. Under one proposal, the force would be dismantled and its members assigned to various security branches, as part of an overall reform of the security forces, who are mainly loyal to Abbas.
When Haniyeh returned to his home later yesterday, fireworks exploded from the roof and women ululated. He was surrounded by armed guards from the Hamas militia and wasn’t able to leave his car because of the crush of reporters.
Under the Makkah deal, Hamas is to propose candidates for interior minister, and Abbas has the right to choose one of them. Haniyeh said yesterday that Hamas has proposed two candidates, but hasn’t heard back from Abbas yet. Haniyeh, who has five weeks to put together a government, is to meet with Abbas on Thursday. Two key portfolios, foreign and finance, have already been assigned to independents.
Once the Hamas government resigns, Abbas would send a letter of designation for a new coalition, to be headed by Haniyeh, said Abbas aide Rafiq Husseini. Abbas wants to move quickly and hopes to issue the letter within days, Husseini said.
Abbas is also trying to win international support for the coalition deal, even though it falls short of demands that any Palestinian government recognize Israel and renounce violence.
