Mahmoud
Hamas says it will reject any new Palestinian government, expected to be formed shortly, if the new cabinet does not get the approval of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), effectively the Palestinian parliament.

A Hamas spokesman was quoted by Xinhua, saying any new government formed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas, which is not approved by the PLC, is illegal and unconstitutional.

Reports suggest ‘Abbas intends to form a new government within the next 10 days, before he heads to Washington to meet with United States officials, including President Barack Obama, on May 28.

Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative elections that took place in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in January 2006 and has since dominated the PLC. The Islamist movement later took over the Gaza Strip in a violent coup in 2007.

Since then, there has been a de facto rift between the Gaza Strip, which is run by an internationally isolated Hamas government, and the West Bank, which has a Western-backed government supported by Hamas’ rival, the Fatah party.

The international community has for the most part refused to deal with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas.

This has also posed challenges to sending aid for the reconstruction of Gaza, after Israel’s military operation there in January, as donors do not want the money to be channeled through the hands of Hamas.

Hamas says the formation of a new government now will deepen the rift between the two parties and among the Palestinian people.

Earlier it was reported that ‘Abbas planned to form a new government, with Salam Faya’d as prime minister, and other cabinet seats occupied by factions that are part of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which means it will not include Hamas.

Nimr Hammad, an adviser to ‘Abbas, confirmed that talks of a government within 10 days were indeed ongoing and that Hamas would not be a part of this cabinet.

“We tried to delay reforming the government, hoping there would be an agreement with Hamas,” he told The Media Line, “but we weren’t able to form a government with them. We’ll continue the dialogue, but at the same time there must be a government that can take care of the situation.”

As to Hamas claims that a new government would be illegal, Hammad said that ‘Abbas, as P.A. chairman, was legally the only one entitled to nominate a prime minister and a government.

The Palestinian news agency Maan quoted officials in Faya’d’s office saying that a new government did not rule out the continuation of reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas. They also said that if an agreement was reached, the newly formed government would resign for the sake of a new joint government.

Egypt-brokered talks between the rival organizations concluded in Cairo on Tuesday with no discernable progress.

The parties agreed to resume dialogue on May 16, after reviewing new Egyptian proposals.

Efforts have centered on creating a unity government that will rule until elections are held in January of next year.

However, Hamas remains steadfast in its refusal to fall in line with demands of the international community to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept commitments and agreements of previous Palestinian governments.

Egyptian mediators have tried to create a way to bypass the issue by saying that contacts with the international community would be handled by 'Abbas. But Hamas is reluctant to accept this idea, stressing that it was Hamas and not Fatah that won the legislative elections and deserves its position atop any government.