IICC
The new government and its policies
1. On May 19, 2009, the new Palestinian Authority government, headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad (who continues as finance minister) was sworn in. The government is composed of 20 ministers, eight of them Fatah members, four representatives of other secular factions and eight independents. Several of the ministers are new. More ministers may be sworn in, but currently deep differences within Fatah prevent them from joining the government. The new government is regarded by the Palestinian public as anemic and without the strength to make genuine changes in the Palestinian arena, although Salam Fayyad's personal status remains stable, both within the Palestinian Authority and abroad. 2. Salam Fayyad opened the government's first session with a speech in which he listed the government's objectives and priorities (Wafa News Agency, May 20, 2009):
i) The new government is a transitional government of PLO factions headed by Fatah, and is based on guidelines formulated by Mahmoud Abbas and the PLO. The government will disband as soon as the internal Palestinian dialogue in Cairo reaches a national consensus which will make it possible to form an agreed-upon government which will end the schism within the Palestinian people.
ii) The new government has two main priorities: rebuilding the Gaza Strip and creating the conditions necessary to ensure the success of the national dialogue between Fatah and Hamas . The government will exert pressure on all the governments which committed themselves at the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting to contributing funds for the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip to meet those commitments. The government will also act to receive international support to lift the “siege” of the Gaza Strip and to open the Gaza Strip crossings, both integral to the process of rebuilding the Gaza Strip.
iii) On the international front the Palestinians will seek to recruit support for their efforts to force Israel “to accept the two-state solution within the 1967 borders” and meet the Palestinian demands: an end to the settlements, an end to making Jerusalem a Jewish city, an end to the IDF's “invasions” of the Palestinian Authority-administered territories, lifting the “siege” of the Gaza Strip and implementing the movement and accessibility agreement of 2005 (which regularizes passage between Egypt and the Gaza Strip).
Wafa News Agency, May 20, 2009
The first session of the transitional government
(Wafa News Agency, May 20, 2009).
The implications of the transitional government
3. In our assessment, establishing a transitional government at this time has the following implications:
i) It provides an image of stability : the establishment of a new government at this time reflects Mahmoud Abbas's desire to show the international community that the Palestinian Authority has stable, functioning governmental institutions. It strengthens his position with regard to his upcoming visit to the United States and meeting with President Barack Obama (May 28, 2009)
ii) It reflects the internal tensions within Fatah : the new government was established at a time of continued tension and power struggles within Fatah, which surfaced in the differences of opinion regarding the formation of the government and the choice of ministers. Senior Fatah members headed by Azzan al-Ahmed, chairman of the Fatah faction in the Palestinian Legislative Council, were critical of the process and said they would boycott the new government (Al-Arabia TV, May 19, 2009). The power struggles were evident in the disagreements over preparations for the Sixth General Conference, Fatah's broadest decision-making forum. (Mahmoud Abbas made many opponents when he announced that the conference would be held in Judea and Samaria on July 1.)
iii) It reflects the tensions between Fatah and Hamas : the new government's establishment has contributed to increased tensions and suspicion between Fatah and Hamas, evident in the failure of the last round of the national reconciliation dialogues in Cairo . The government represents Mahmoud Abbas's lack of faith in the dialogue's chances of success and the growing separation of the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria , each of which is founding its own political entity with parallel government apparatuses but with a difference character. However, both sides are exercising caution not to be responsible for ending the talks and both pay lip service to national Palestinian unity, careful not to refuse to participate in the next round of talks, which will begin in Cairo early in July.
4. For the members of the new government, see the Appendix.
Hamas's reactions
5. Hamas strongly criticized the new government, saying that Mahmoud Abbas's actions were illegal and that he had surrendered to American and Israeli pressure. Hamas also stated that the legal Palestinian government was the one headed by Ismail Haniya. Such statements are liable to accelerate the confrontation between the Hamas de-facto administration in the Gaza Strip and Salam Fayyad's new government, and deepen the alienation and separation between the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria .
6. The Ismail Haniya administration issued a statement on May 19 calling the new government “an illegitimate body” established in violation of Palestinian law and “the main obstacle to the national Palestinian dialogue.” In addition, according to the statement, the new government does not have the authority to swear allegiance to “a president whose legitimacy has ended,” and said that the Palestinian Authority should stop following the dictates of the United States and Israel (Hamas de-facto administration interior ministry website, May 20, 2009).
7. Various Hamas spokesmen had the following to say:
i) Yehiya Mousa , deputy head of the Hamas faction in the Palestinian Legislative Council, accused Mahmoud Abbas of yielding to the interests of the American administration and of “the foreign elements which control the Palestinian Authority.” He said that the new government was useless from a legal point of view and that countries and parliaments all over the globe were asked not to cooperate with it (Al-Quds TV, May 19, 2009).
ii) Taher al-Nunu , Hamas administration spokesman, said that the new government was illegal and would interfere with the success of the internal Palestinian dialogue. He said that the establishment of the government was “a declaration that the dialogue was dead.” However, when asked if that meant Hamas would not participate in the next round of talks in Cairo , he said that Hamas would continue its efforts to end the Palestinian schism (BBC in Arabic, May 19, 2009).
iii) Musheir al-Masri , a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said that the new government was “a failure” and illegal because it had not received the mandate from the Palestinian Legislative Council. The government, he said, “represented a minority, subordinate to the will of the United States and Israel , and a [was] knife in the back of Egyptian efforts [to promote] the dialogue.” He said that the legal Palestinian government was that of Ismail Haniya (Hamas's Palestine-Info website, May 19, 2009).
iv) Fawzi Barhoum , Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, accused Salam Fayyad's former government of having destroyed Fatah and the West Bank , and of having collaborated with the “Zionist enemy” to uproot Hamas and the “resistance” [i.e., the terrorist organizations]. He said that the new government was a continuation of Mahmoud Abbas's policies which “operate according to American and Israeli will” (Al-Aqsa TV, May 19, 2009).
8. On the backdrop of the above, Hamas prevented two Fatah members, Yussuf Abu Safia and Jabber al-Daaour, who were supposed to serve as ministers in the new government, from leaving the Gaza Strip. The two were detained near the Erez crossing, their passports were impounded and they were forced to return home ( Al-Yawm Al-Sabaa , Wafa News Agency, May 20, 2009). In response Taher al-Nunu to Fatah allegations, said that the two were “lawbreakers” because they had “agreed to participate in an illegitimate body” and “sap the strength of the legitimate rule of the current government” (Al-Quds TV, May 20, 2009).
Appendix
Salam Fayyad’s new government
Name
Role
Affiliation
New/Continuing
Residence
Dr. Salam Fayyad
Prime Minister and Finance Minister
Independent
Continuing
Judea and Samaria
Dr. Riyadh al-Maliki
Foreign Minister
Independent
Continuing
Judea and Samaria
Dr. Sayid Abu Ali
Interior Minister
Fatah
New
Judea and Samaria
Dr. Ahmed Majdalani
Labor Minister
The Popular Palestinian Struggle Front
New
Judea and Samaria
Dr. Saadi al-Qarmuz
Transportation Minister
Fatah
Continuing (Former government secretary general)
Judea and Samaria (Originally from the Gaza Strip)
Dr. Khaled al-Qawasmi
Local Administration Minister
Fatah
New
Judea and Samaria
Dr. Muhammad Ashtayya
Public Works and Housing Minister
Fatah
New
Judea and Samaria
Dr. Khuloud Da'ybas
Tourism and Antiquities Minister
Independent
Continuing (Former minister of tourism and women's affairs)
Judea and Samaria
Lamis al-Alami
Education Minister
Independent
Continuing (Former minister of education and culture)
Dr. Fathi Abu Maghali
Health Minister
Fatah
Continuing
Judea and Samaria
Dr. Mahmoud al-Habash
Endowments Minister
Independent
Continuing (Former minister of agriculture and welfare)
Judea and Samaria (Originally from the Gaza Strip)
Dr. Mashhour Abu Daqa
Communications and IT Minister
Independent
Continuing (Former minister of transportation)
Judea and Samaria (Originally from the Gaza Strip)
Dr. Ali Khashan
Justice Minister
Independent
Continuing
Judea and Samaria
Dr. Ismail Ed'eq
Agriculture Minister
People's Party
New
Judea and Samaria
Bassam Khouri
National Economic Minister
Independent
New
Judea and Samaria
Hatem Abd al-Qader
Jerusalem Affairs Minister
Fatah
New
Judea and Samaria
Dr. Ali Jabrawi
Infrastructure and Administrative Development Minister
Independent
New
Judea and Samaria
Siham Barghouti
Transportation Minister
Fida'
New
Judea and Samaria
Majida al-Masri
Welfare Minister
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
New
Judea and Samaria
Maher Ghneim
State Minister
Fatah
New
Judea and Samaria
Dr. Hassan Abu Libda
Secretary of State with ministerial status
Fatah
New
Judea and Samaria
No comments:
Post a Comment