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Unity deal splits opinion

June 3, 2014

The formation of a new Palestinian unity government has drawn mixed reactions. The US says it will cautiously work with the new cabinet sworn in by President Mahmoud Abbas, while Israel has threatened sanctions.

https://p.dw.com/p/1CApw
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah (6th L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (5th L) pose for a group photo with Palestinian ministers during a swearing-in ceremony of the unity government, in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 2, 2014. Abbas swore in a unity government on Monday after overcoming a last-minute dispute with the Hamas Islamist group. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Image: Reuters

Israel on Monday threatened to impose new sanctions against the Palestinian Authority as the new government was formed under a deal with Hamas, the widely outlawed movement which rules Gaza.

Israel has condemned the unity deal since it was announced on April 23, urging the world to reject it.

The Palestinian unity cabinet brought to an end a seven-year rift - replacing two rival administrations - one run by Hamas since it seized Gaza from Abbas in 2007 and the other, controlled by President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah administration, in autonomous areas of the West Bank.

Abbas said the new government agreed with Hamas would be composed of 17 unaffiliated ministers, and would strive to pursue peace.

US State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said Washington believed that Abbas had formed "an interim technocratic government ... that does not include members affiliated with Hamas."

"With what we know now, we will work with this government," Psaki said, adding that the US would be "watching closely" that the Palestinian cabinet upheld principles of non-violence and recognition of Israel.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's security cabinet had authorized him, if necessary, to impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority.

Collective responsibility

Hamas - which, unlike Fatah, says it will not accept co-existence with Israel - has fired thousands of rockets at Israel in recent years, and has made clear that it will remain in charge of the weapons.

However, a statement from Netanyahu's office said it would hold the Palestinian Authority responsible for any attack on Israel

"The agreement with Hamas makes Abu Mazen [Abbas] directly responsible for the terrorism emanating from Gaza," it quoted Netanyahu as saying.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by Abbas, reached an agreement with the Islamist militant group Hamas to end years of division by forming a "national consensus" government. Under the deal, the two sides aim to form a unity government within five weeks and hold national elections in six months.

Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, seized the Gaza Strip from forces loyal to Abbas back in 2007. It has ruled the territory since then, with Fatah and the PLO controlling the West Bank. A number of previous attempts at reconciliation have failed.

ipj,rc/jr (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)