GAZA: Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh plans to reshuffle and expand his current government which controls the Gaza Strip. He is holding consultations with various parties and independent Palestinian Academy seniors, a Hamas newspaper reported on Tuesday.
"Haniyeh's amendments to the cabinet is in response to recent political and administrative developments. The intention is also to provide better services to the Palestinian public," Al-Ressallah newspaper said, quoting undisclosed sources.
Most of Haniyeh's current cabinet members hold more than one portfolio. The new government would expand and some of the current ministers will be replaced, according to the report.
Haniyeh had already made some changes to the current government. He appointed Saeid Siyam as interior minister, but when he was killed during Israel’s offensive on Gaza at the beginning of the year, Fathi Hamas replaced him. He also commissioned new ministers for Awqaf, Social Affairs, Labor, and Justice.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the unity government led by Hamas after the Islamic group routed his forces and forcibly took over Gaza in June 2007. In defiance, Haniyeh continued as head of the shrunken government after independents and Fatah ministers quit.
