RAMALLAH: The Hamas movement on Monday announced its rejection that caretaker Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad form the national unity government.
Ismail Radwan, a spokesman for Hamas, said in a press statement that the official rejection came after his movement and Fatah agreed to exclude members of current governments from joining the national unity government. He was referring to the West Bank-based Fayyad’s government and the Gaza-based government of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
Radwan added that his movement “will nominate new candidates for the post of prime minister and ministers.”
The Hamas official said that the two movements agreed to exclude members of political factions “in order to form a government of technocrats and independents.”
Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation deal early this month in Cairo to end around four years of internal division, which began when Hamas routed the security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Representatives of Hamas and Fatah movements held several meetings abroad to discuss the formation of a national unity government, the topics of security services, general and local elections and the restoration of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Palestinian sources said that Abbas will hold on Monday consultations with the majority of Palestinian political factions to choose the candidate who will be tasked to form the unity government.
The sources added that Abbas will try to convince the Palestinian factions, including Hamas, to task Fayyad with the formation of the government “to avoid any political turmoil before September.”
The Palestinian leadership decided to go to the United Nations to seek recognition of an independent state in September due to stalemate in peace process.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dispatched two senior officials to Washington to discuss the steps the US administration will take to revive the peace process, a report said on Monday.
The Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam said that Sa’eb Erekat, member of the PLO’s Executive Committee, and Nabil Abu Rdaineh, Abbas’ spokesman and member of Fatah’s Central Committee, will discuss with official at the US State Department and the White House the latest political developments and the US’s steps to resume the peace talks with Israel.
The report said that the Palestinian officials’ visit coincides with the visit of French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe to Washington for talks with his counterpart Hillary Clinton.
The report quoted western diplomatic sources as saying that “the results of the French Foreign Minister’s visit and his talks with US Secretary of State will determine the next political steps.”
According to the report, “the sources preferred not to raise expectations in light of the discouraging positions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Netanyahu responded coolly to the French plan on Sunday. “We will study the proposal and discuss it with our friend, the United States,” Netanyahu told his Cabinet.
“The Americans also want to promote initiatives, and we have our own thoughts, too,” he said.
“We will see how the (French) proposal fits with other initiatives. Understandably, it’s not possible to implement all of them, and it’s better to concentrate on one initiative and move it forward,” Netanyahu said.
The French plan envisions the 1967 lines as the borders between Israel and the future Palestinian state.
