Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayad said after being sworn in Sunday that his first priority would be to restore security to the PA.

"The first piority of our government is security and the security situation," he told reporters. "The mission will be difficult and hard, but not impossible," he said.

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas selected Fayad to head of the new emergency cabinet, to replaces the Hamas-Fatah coalition dissolved by Abbas after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip by force last week.

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Fayad is a respected economist and will retain his former position of finance minister and take on the post of foreign minister. Fayad replaced deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.

The establishment of the emergency cabinet became possible after Abbas issued a decree allowing the cabinet to take office without parliamentary approval late Saturday.

Hamas, which is not represented in the new cabinet, said it considers Abbas' cabinet illegal.

"The Islamic Resistance Movement considers this government illegitimate and illegal," said Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan. "We will not recognize it. We will not work with it."

Haniyeh insisted Sunday that the dismantled Hamas-Fatah coalition remains the rightful Palestinian government.

"The national unity government asserts here that we are fulfilling our duty according to our law," Haniyeh said in a statement.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that Abbas "unfortunately is involved in the American-Israeli conspiracy, along with some Arab parties, to bring down the Hamas movement."

"Hamas as a movement has ties and roots to the hearts of the Palestinians, and the resistance will continue and cannot be stopped," he said.

Nabil Amr, an adviser to Abbas, said on Saturday that "most of the ministers in the new Palestinian emergency government are independent technocrats."

The new cabinet consists of twelve ministers, all independents that are not affiliated with Fatah. Some of the ministers are technocrats, experts in their fields.

The new cabinet consists of twelve ministers, all independents that are not affiliated with Fatah. Some of the ministers are technocrats, experts in their fields, like Transportation Minister Dr. Mashhur Abu Dakka

The Interior Ministry is headed by Abdel Razek al-Yihyeh, a PLO veteran and interior minister in Yasser Arafat's government, who will also be responsible for the security apparatus and civilian affairs.

The remainder of the cabinet are Justice and Information Minister Riyad al Maliki, Municipal Affairs Minister Ziyad al-Bandak, Prisoners, Youth and Sports Minister Ashraf al-Ajarmi, Communications, Economy and Public Works Minister Kamel al-Hasuna, Tourism and Women's Affairs Minister Hulud Deibas, Education Minister Namis el-Alami, Planning Minister Samir Abdullah, Health Minister Fat'hi Abu Marli and Minister of Religious Affairs Jamal Bawatna, who is also the mufti of the Ramallah district.

In order to establish the emergency cabinet Abbas issued a special decree on Saturday bypassing parliament approval. Hamas has a majority in the parliament - although the arrests by Israel of nearly half of the Hamas' lawmakers puts that majority in doubt and also makes it hard to reach a quorum. That could enable Abbas to keep the state of emergency in place longer.

Abbas sacked the three-month-old unity government he formed with Hamas on Thursday after the group routed his forces in the Gaza Strip and began imposing a new order in the enclave after days of bloody civil war.

On Friday, Abbas chose a technocrat, the former finance minister and internationally respected economist Salam Fayad, as prime minister to replace Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.

Fayad was Saturday putting the finishing touches on his cabinet, which will include 11 ministers, some from the Gaza Strip.

The United States, Israel and European states plan to open the financial taps to the new government, after a 15-month embargo of the Hamas-led administration pushed the Palestinian Authority to the brink of financial collapse.

Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi said Fayad's cabinet faced daunting challenges, chief among them "to ensure the rule of law and to prevent the spread of lawlessness from Gaza to the West Bank."

Haniyeh, who sits in Gaza, has refused to accept his dismissal as prime minister.

Under Palestinian law, Abbas can declare a state of emergency for up to 30 days. The state of emergency could be extended for another 30 days, but only after winning the approval of two thirds of the parliament.

Some Fatah and U.S. diplomats have argued that Abbas could rule by decree for six months to a year ahead of new elections.