-------------------- Palestinians quit to clear way to unity government --------------------
By Greg Myre New York Times News Service
September 14, 2006
JERUSALEM -- Palestinian Cabinet members submitted their resignations Wednesday night to allow for the creation of a national unity government that is expected to include a broad range of factions, Palestinian officials said.
The new government may not be in place for weeks, and it is not clear whether Western countries will be prepared to restore assistance that was halted when the militant Islamic movement Hamas came to power earlier this year.
Isolated by the West, starved of funding and squeezed by Israel, Hamas has not been able to govern and it agreed this week to the unity government. Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas legislator, said Wednesday that Cabinet ministers had offered their resignations to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.
The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, a member of the rival Fatah faction, said he plans to dismiss the government formally in the coming days, though he intends to ask Haniyeh to form the new government.
"As I said in the beginning of the week, the government will be formed soon," Abbas said.
Although the outgoing Cabinet was dominated by Hamas, which won the Palestinian elections in January, the unity government is expected to include members of Fatah.
Smaller factions, independents and technical experts are also considered likely to be part of the new Cabinet.
Abbas said Wednesday that he would send a delegation to the United Nations General Assembly next week in an effort to restart a dialogue with Israel. Abbas met Wednesday with President Lech Kaczynski of Poland in the West Bank.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said he is willing to meet with Abbas, but the Palestinians must release a captured Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, before there can be progress.
Hamas said it does not object to Abbas holding talks with Israel, but the group remains committed to its positions, including a refusal to recognize Israel. Haniyeh said he saw little point in any Palestinian politician meeting with Israeli officials.
"We do not want to relive the experience of past negotiations," he said. "Before talking about negotiations, we should ask ourselves: `Do the Israelis recognize the rights of Palestinians? Will the refugees return? Will the prisoners be released? Will Israeli occupation and aggression end?"' Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune