Palestinian coalition to be approved
Palestinian president to address parliament ahead of expected approval of new Palestinian unity government between Hamas, Fatah
Ratification of the “unity” cabinet looks certain when parliament met Saturday morning for a keynote address by moderate President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, who signed a power-sharing deal with majority Hamas Islamists last month.
The official announcement of the establishment of the Palestinian unity government took place during a satellite video ceremony in Gaza and Ramallah.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were in Gaza, and government ministers were in Ramallah.
"We would have liked this assembly to take place in Jerusalem with all the parliament members participating, but the occupation policy that has abducted the parliament members and harmed Palestinian sovereignty did not allow that," Haniyeh said.
"We have suffered because we refused to give into pressure," said Haniyeh, adding that "we promised our struggling prisoners that we would continue to fight for their release."
'New phase in Palestinian struggle'
Abbas spoke at the ceremony and said, “Today we begin a new phase in our national struggle to establish an independent Palestinian state. This is a struggle initiated by the shahid, Yasser Arafat, who we praise today in our national unity.”
He urged the international community to “end the embargo on the Palestinian authority”.
Abbas then addressed Israel and said, “I call on you to walk the path of peace. We are ready for an immediate, unconditional, diplomatic peace process. I’m telling you that the settlements, the separation fence, and violence are not leading to security and peace.”
“We are extending our hands to you for peace, and co-existence built on mutual respect that will end the suffering of both our people,” Abbas continued.
The Palestinian president also said that all efforts would be made to bring about the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
“The issue of the prisoner exchange, and the release of Palestinian prisoners, will continue to be on the top of our list of priorities. We will make every effort to release every last one of our prisoners,” Abbas added.
'Occupation source of instability'
Haniyeh continued to say that the new Palestinian unity government "is committed to the right of return, honors agreements signed by the PLO, and views the occupation as the source of instability in the region".
Haniyeh added that the government would "fight the Israeli plans to harm Jerusalem and its identity and it will set up a special committee and budget for establishing the Palestinians' grip and resistance in Jerusalem".
Haniyeh will present his new cabinet and read a policy speech before the confidence vote.
Abbas will swear in ministers from Gaza in the evening. West Bank ministers will be sworn in at the presidency in Ramallah.
Israel has ruled out talks with the Palestinian government because of Hamas’s refusal to accept demands, set by a Quartet of foreign peace mediators, that it renounce violence, recognize the Jewish state, and accept past interim peace deals.
But with international impatience mounting over the diplomatic impasse and deepening Palestinian poverty and lawlessness, there have been signs of Western flexibility on talking to non-Hamas members of the new cabinet.
A US official said on Friday that Washington would leave the door open to unofficial contacts with Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, an independent with strong reformist credentials.
France has invited new Foreign Minister Ziad Abu Amr to visit Paris, and European diplomats said Britain planned to allow diplomatic contacts with ministers not from Hamas.
Western interference
Hamas has been troubled by the signs that Western powers will pick and choose among Palestinian cabinet members.
”Hamas rejects selectivity in dealing with ministers of the national unity government,” Said Ismail Rudwan, a Hamas spokesman.
Palestinians hope the new government will halt internal fighting and restore law and order, especially in Gaza.
Palestinian journalists were planning to gather outside the venue of the parliamentary session to protest the continued captivity of Gaza-based BBC journalist Alan Johnston, a Briton who was seized by unidentified kidnappers on Monday.
The unity government is likely to pledge “respect” for past Palestinian-Israeli agreements, in line with a Saudi-brokered agreement reached by Hamas and Fatah in Mecca on 8 February.
Even though those agreements were intended eventually to create a Palestinian state alongside Israel, Hamas says it will never recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Hamas officials say the Islamist movement will back the government’s political agenda only as a “transitional” phase.
“We believe in liberating our land gradually,” senior Hamas lawmaker Mushir al-Masri told Reuters. “Any transitional agenda that deals with gradual achievement of our goals on the basis of constant rights is one we can push in favor of.”
The coalition’s fate may hang on whether it can erode the foreign boycott of the aid-dependent Palestinian Authority, which has been unable to pay its employees in full for a year.
The Quartet - the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nation - suspended direct aid to the government after Hamas beat Fatah in elections and took power last March.
The United States has said any Palestinian government must meet all the Quartet’s conditions, but has reserved judgment on the unity coalition. Like France, Russia has given warmer signs.
Reuters contributed to this article
