New Hamas-Free Palestinian Government Sworn In

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday swore in a new government comprised mainly of members of his Fatah Party, but without representation of his bitter rivals from the militant Islamic Hamas group.

The move underlines the failure of attempts to bridge differences between the two movements, which have been negotiating to form a joint government that would reunite the West Bank and Gaza and open the way for renewed foreign aid.

Hamas overran Gaza nearly two years ago, expelling Fatah forces. The government sworn in Tuesday will effectively only rule the West Bank.

Nations and aid organizations have been dealing with Abbas, but Hamas and Gaza have been largely left out because the EU, U.S. and Israel list Hamas as a terror organization.

In Gaza, Hamas official Mushir al-Masri rejected the new Cabinet.

"This government is illegal, unconstitutional and came with the blessing of the Zionist and American administrations, and it poses an obstacle on the way to national reconciliation talks," he said.

After Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza, which ended in mid-January, Egypt hosted several rounds of Palestinian unity talks. The aim was to set up a unity government, mainly to handle reconstruction in Gaza, until presidential and parliament elections can be held in January.

However, the talks are deadlocked over the political program of a joint government. Hamas has balked at Western demands that any Palestinian government recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept previous peace deals.

Abbas has said the new government would step down if a power-sharing deal is reached.

In the meantime, Salam Fayyad will retain his position as prime minister of the government. The respected economist has worked to restore transparency to murky Palestinian finances, a step toward reassuring donor nations that their money is being put to good use.

Speaking to reporters after the swearing-in ceremony, Fayyad pledged to work for reconstruction of Gaza after Israel's offensive there earlier this year. He stressed the need for Palestinian unity and reconciliation.

"This is a high priority for all of us, and we hope we can reach it as soon as possible," he said.

The new Palestinian government has 24 ministries to rule over around 2.5 million people in the West Bank and to provide some services for Hamas-ruled Gaza.

The large government is meant to appease Fatah operatives who have complained that Fayyad had given posts to independents and overlooked Fatah in his first government.

Comments

[JoeSchmuk]

What a joke.

Hamas, (Middle East specialist Fawwaz Gerges) writes, "cannot be wiped out without massacring half a million Palestinians. If Israel succeeds in killing Hamas's senior leaders, a new generation, more radical than the present, will swiftly replace them. Hamas is a fact of life. It is not going away, and it will not raise the white flag regardless of how many casualties it suffers." - "Exterminate all the Brutes": Gaza 2009 - Noam Chomsky - chomsky.info, January 19, 2009

Hamas is a constitutionally elected entity and reflects the desires of a dying nation. What we are watching is an ethnic cleansing, in slow, agonizing motion, the wool being pulled over our collective eyes as an extremist Israeli regime jackboots its way into Zion.

[MemoryAlpha]

Repetition:
Jake Walles, the consul general in Jerusalem, is a career foreign-service officer with many years’ experience in the Middle East. His purpose was to deliver a barely varnished ultimatum to the Palestinian president...

"The consequences of Hamas’ decision should also be clear: If Hamas does not agree within the prescribed time, you should make clear your intention to declare a state of emergency and form an emergency government explicitly committed to that platform.”

...A State Department official adds, “Those in charge of implementing the policy were saying, ‘Do whatever it takes. We have to be in a position for Fatah to defeat Hamas militarily, and only Muhammad Dahlan has the guile and the muscle to do this.’ The expectation was that this was where it would end up—with a military showdown.” There were, this official says, two “parallel programs”—the overt one, which the administration took to Congress, “and a covert one, not only to buy arms but to pay the salaries of security personnel.”

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804

[aaronr2000]

This is so depressing. We've seen this movie before. For those of you who haven't been paying attention or you're new to the scene, spoiler alert!



While having the appearance of power and legitimacy, this bright eyed hopeful new government is going to pursue its stated goals of supporting its people, attempting to provide them with aid, jobs, schools, etc. However in the name of security for Israel, its authority will be trumped by a heavy handed belligerent Israeli government in the form of more check points, settlements, and Jewish only roads.



Israel will lobby feverishly in the US to minimize the amount of financial support this government will receive since technically they are still labeled by our State Department as supporters of terrorists, compounded by Israel's tightening blockade preventing humanitarian aid from reaching those who desperately need it.



Then the unthinkable will happen. A suicide bomber will attack in Israel or rockets will be launched over its borders. Israel will demand that the Palestinian government publicly denounce such attacks, forcing it to neglect its obligations to its own people in order to dedicate its limited resources in securing Israel. The people watch as their cashed starved feable government gets hopelessly punked with no chance of securing their own prosperity. That weak government will be replaced by another one. Repeat indefinitely.

[lightningbolt]

A Hamas-free Palestinian government is essential to peace. Hamas is a criminal organization which has no place ruling anyone. They refuse to recognize Israel and stop killing innocent Israelis and Palestinians. Hamas is a mini-dictatorship in Gaza and will remain that way until Gazans get fed up with them and overthrow them or Israel goes in again and destroys Hamas. Peace will not be possible if we try to negotiate with both Fatah and Hamas at the same time, since they both want different things and they can't reconcile their differences. Peace will happen first in the West Bank and Palestinians will have their state in the West Bank. Gaza will remain under defacto Hamas rule, and will continue to be at war with Israel until Hamas is overthrown or defeated. If Gazans want peace, they must first get rid of Hamas.

[MemoryAlpha]

Distortion:
"If Gazans want peace, they must first get rid of Hamas."

Correction:
"Wurmser accuses the Bush administration of “engaging in a dirty war in an effort to provide a corrupt dictatorship [led by Abbas] with victory.” He believes that Hamas had no intention of taking Gaza until Fatah forced its hand. “It looks to me that what happened wasn’t so much a coup by Hamas but an attempted coup by Fatah that was pre-empted before it could happen,” Wurmser says."
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804

[zaz33]

This could be a co-ordinated plan by the US and Israel to avoid peace negotiations with the Palistinians. ( And of course blame the Plistinians )

The Palistinian people know that Abbas is a puppet and probably assume this new government was ordered by the handlers. We could see a revolt against Fatah in the West Bank. I find it hard to believe the WB Pals will tolerate this corrupt government forever.

I get the feeling the next year will be interesting but tragic in the ME.

[finishcurve]

Hamas is a grassroots organization which won a democratic election, judged to be fair by all international observers. That the people of Gaza voted their choice should be good enough for honest people, but it was not...so what did the "shining" democracy in the region do? What did the "shining" democracy in the world do?

I don't like Hamas, but I do like the process. It just happens to be "our" process.

[finishcurve]

There they go...a new puppet government supported by Israel and the USA
Now it will be legal to clean the country of any opposition.

[b--dog]

so if it is supported by Israel & US, it must be corrupt? bad for Palestinians? not effective?

[Aziat]

Don't expect to find logic among Israel bashers