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Haniyeh begins efforts to form unity Government

Atul Aneja

Palestinian regime may still face Western aid boycott

PHOTO: AFP

BURYING THE HATCHET: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (left) receives the order appointing him Palestinian Prime Minister from President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza City on Thursday.

DUBAI: Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh has begun efforts to form a Cabinet amid signs that the new national unity government could still face a Western aid boycott.

"Contacts with the different parliamentary groups began already overnight to find out their candidates for the ministerial posts that should come their way," a senior official in Mr. Haniyeh's office was quoted as saying on Friday.

Mr. Haniyeh is going about his task based on the Makkah accord. Top representatives of Hamas, led by the organisation's head, Khalid Meshaal, and Fatah, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, had reached a power-sharing agreement during their talks in Makkah on February 8. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz had invited all major Palestinian factions to the conference.

Under the Makkah agreement, 10 Cabinet posts, including that of Prime Minister would go to Hamas. Fatah would get six, and the rest of the factions would share the other four.

Mr. Haniyeh was also Prime Minister in the outgoing Hamas government. However, his government faced a Western boycott for its refusal to recognise Israel, renounce violence and endorse past peace accords. In Makkah, Hamas had agreed to "respect" past agreements with Israel.

At a press conference on Thursday in Gaza after the Hamas government had resigned, Mr. Abbas pointedly told Mr. Haniyeh "to respect" past Palestinian accords with Israel. The Prime Minister-designate affirmed that he would "work in accordance" with Mr. Abbas' letter of designation.

In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow said Israel needed "a negotiating partner that acknowledges Israel's right to exist, renounces the use of violence against Israel and also abides by previous international agreements involving the Palestinians and Israel."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington would take a decision on "how to deal" with the new government only after it was formed.

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