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Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, left, shaking hands with PA President Mahmoud Abbas as he submits his resignation on Saturday in Ramallah.
 AP
Last update - 21:41 07/03/2009
Abbas asks Fayyad to continue as PM until end of unity talks
By News Agencies
Tags: Hamas, PA, Israel News 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday asked Salam Fayyad to remain Palestinian prime minister until results emerged from Hamas-Fatah reconciliation talks. He made the request shortly after Fayyad announced his intention to resign by the end of March.

Earlier Saturday, Abbas said Fayyad's resignation would aid the negotiations with Hamas.

"Fayyad's resignation comes to enhance and support the national dialogue to reach a national unity government," Abbas said.
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Fayyad submitted his resignation earlier Saturday, a move that could help pave the way for an elusive power-sharing deal between the two factions.

Abbas also said he hoped a transition government could be formed by the end of March, suggesting that power-sharing talks have moved into high gear, following failed attempts in the past.

Fayyad was appointed prime minister by Abbas in June 2007, in response to the violent takeover of Gaza by the Islamic militant Hamas. Abbas and the Fayyad government control the West Bank, while Hamas continues to rule Gaza, despite a recent three-week Israeli military offensive there.

The Palestinian prime minister's decision was meant as a confidence-building measure, ahead of the resumption of Palestinian reconciliation talks on Tuesday in Cairo. Negotiators from Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement are trying to form a transition government that is to prepare for presidential and legislative elections by January 2010.

Fayyad, 57, said he would step down after the formation of a new government, but no later than the end of March. However, Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh suggested that Abbas could reappoint Fayyad if power-sharing talks fail.

Hamas seemed dismissive Saturday, arguing that the Fayyad government had been unconstitutional from the start.

"This government did not work for the sake of the Palestinians, it worked for its own agenda. This end was expected for a government that was illegal and unconstitutional," said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza.

A senior Western diplomat said Fayyad has been saying privately for weeks that he wanted to leave his post "because he doesn't see any hope" of making progress in peace talks with Israel and healing factional rifts.

Fayyad, a respected economist and a political independent, had won widespread international support as prime minister. He carried out government reforms, including making government spending more transparent and deploying Palestinian security forces in former militant strongholds in the West Bank.

The support for the U.S.-educated Fayyad translated into massive amounts of foreign aid for the Palestinians. In 2007, donor countries pledged $7.7 billion over three years for the Fayyad government. Last week, another pledging conference, convened in the wake of Israel's Gaza offensive, yielded $5.2 billion over two years.

It was not immediately clear whether the pledges would be affected by a change in the Palestinian government. Donors had said at the pledging conference that much of the aid would be funneled through the Fayyad government.

Fayyad said in a statement on Saturday that he was hoping to pave the way for a unity government. "This step comes in the efforts to form a national conciliation government," Fayyad said.

Hamas officials, meanwhile, suggested that in the event of a power-sharing deal, elections could be put off for several months, beyond January 2010, as the two sides try to improve their standing with voters. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal is informal and hasn't been raised in unity talks.

The political split between Abbas and Hamas broke out into the open in January 2006 when Hamas won parliament elections, defeating Fatah which had dominated Palestinian politics for decades. Arab mediators repeatedly attempted to bridge the gaps, but failed, and Hamas seized power by force in Gaza in 2007. In response, Abbas fired Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and replaced him with Fayyad, while Israel and Egypt responded by closing Gaza's borders.

In 2008, Abbas conducted peace talks with Israel, but the negotiations ended without progress.

The rival camps appear to have stronger reasons now than in the past to reach a power-sharing deal.

A negotiated deal with Israel seems out of reach, particularly now that a right-wing government is about to be formed in Israel. Hamas, meanwhile, survived Israel's Gaza offensive, but has failed to get the border blockade lifted.


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      1.   Islamic Terrorist Unite 11:32  |  Baruch Gold 07/03/09
      2.   Good! He has no legal power over the electorate anyhow 11:34  |  Dutch 07/03/09
      3.   How can a Non-State have a PM? 11:37  |  Baruch Gold 07/03/09
      4.   NOTHING HE HAS ACHIEVED ALL THIS TIME, NONE 11:38  |  indrajaya 07/03/09
      5.   good riddance 11:38  |  man from Ramallah 07/03/09
      6.   Logical reaction to Israels move to the (extreme) right..... 11:43  |  Swiss (Dino) 07/03/09
      7.   fayyad resigns 11:46  |  mary 07/03/09
      8.   Salam. 11:49  |  sandra chitayat 07/03/09
      9.   A lone voice of reason and honesty 11:55  |  The Prophet 07/03/09
      10.   What of the Minister of the Smurf Kingdom? 12:15  |  Baruch Gold 07/03/09
      11.   Proof that Palestinians are slaves to corruption 12:17  |  Joe Sittizen 07/03/09
      12.   This sucks, Completely. 12:23  |  Mossad 07/03/09
      13.   I Think That`s Terrible 13:06  |  Yosemite 07/03/09
      14.   Unity government for PA 13:09  |  Serge 07/03/09
      15.   What is going on? 13:23  |  Richie 07/03/09
      16.   Fayyad resigned - will anyone notice? 13:54  |  Palestinian Brit 07/03/09
      17.   Time for humble pie 14:14  |  Welshman 07/03/09
      18.   Candyland Has a New Mayor 14:38  |  Baruch Gold 07/03/09
      19.   Response to #1 15:07  |  Joseph 07/03/09
      20.   Fayyad is Correct 15:22  |  George Kaplan 07/03/09
      21.   Misinformation here-as usual 15:41  |  Roo 07/03/09
      22.   Fatah and Hamas will never unite 15:44  |  Conroy 07/03/09
      23.   He was the first good Prime Minister 15:51  |  Chris 07/03/09
      24.   Also had to be-he would not be able to work in a "unity" govereme 16:07  |  Jo 07/03/09
      25.   There`s Fatah democracy for you 16:08  |  Clickfool 07/03/09
      26.   To George Kaplan 16:30  |  indigenous 07/03/09
      27.   Misinformation here-as usual 16:34  |  Roo 07/03/09
      28.   Good...paving the way for others... 16:47  |  Dutch 07/03/09
      29.   Best wishes to a great man! 17:05  |  Jim 07/03/09
      30.   Misinformation here-as usual 17:15  |  Roo 07/03/09
      31.   Just offering more proof to the known beliefs 17:21  |  Christopher 07/03/09
      32.   Reconciliation? It Sounds More Like Capitulation 17:36  |  Jeff Northridge 07/03/09
      33.   Minor Corrections 17:43  |  Mark of Lewiston 07/03/09
      34.   Optimistic Fayyad 17:44  |  Anonymous 07/03/09
      35.   Indigenous 18:01  |  Brad 07/03/09
      36.   He never had a mandate from the electoral ... 18:16  |  Dutch 07/03/09
      37.   To Clickfool. Every single time there`s an article about Abbas... 18:17  |  flyingdoc57 07/03/09
      38.   Abbas makes deal with the devil 18:55  |  Shepherd 07/03/09
      39.   Hamas-Fatah unity: Both Charters already call for the wiping of.. 19:07  |  Jehudah Ben-Israel 07/03/09
      40.   Mark of Lewiston 19:08  |  Roo 07/03/09
      41.   Hamas-Fatah unity will mean no peace deal with Israel 19:10  |  Bridget 07/03/09
      42.   to clickfool..... 19:35  |  Will 07/03/09
      43.   Replacing Haniyeh with Fayyad had nothing to mdo with the closing 19:40  |  Bridget 07/03/09
      44.   13~ Shepherd : Who is the Devil after all ? 20:54  |  Akram Zekaria 07/03/09
      45.   The Tri-State Solution is What Israel Should Seek 21:47  |  Eli 07/03/09
      46.   Clickfool 22:26  |  Nano 07/03/09
      47.   Vichi government 23:07  |  Saddam 07/03/09
      48.   18 Roo - Too Well Planned & Executed 23:31  |  Mark of Lewiston 07/03/09
      49.   #3 Jo 00:21  |  Jim 08/03/09
      50.   #4 Clickfool 00:49  |  Jim 08/03/09
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