Hamas government officially dissolved;
Isma'il Haniyeh to form unity government in line with Mecca accords
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accepted the resignation of the Haniyeh government, and declared it an "interim government".
Prime Minister Haniyeh read his government's resignation to President Abbas in Gaza, while several prominent Hamas and Fatah leaders listened. Present in the meeting were Muhammad Dahlan, Azzam Al-Ahmad, and Dr Ziad Abu Amr, the controversial nominee for the portfolio of foreign affairs. Also attending were Khalil Abu Layla and Dr Ghazi Hamad.
Haniyeh declared, "in accordance with the Mecca agreement, I submit my resignation to pave the way for the formation of the future coalition government."
President Abbas approved the resignation and entrusted Isma'il Haniyeh to compose the future unity government within the timeframe permitted by law, a period of three weeks. After those three weeks, Haniyeh would still be within his rights to ask for a two week extension. The new government should be then be submitted to the president and to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) for approval.
In the letter of entrustment, President Abbas called for "commitment to the higher Palestinian interests, the resolutions of the Palestinian National Council and respect for existing treaties and resolutions of the international community".
Dr. Mustafa Al-Barghouthi, the head of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI), was supposed to attend the Abbas-Haniyeh meeting in Gaza on Thursday, but he was denied entry into the Gaza Strip by the Israeli occupation authorities. He had reportedly been applying for a permit for the last two weeks. The PNI condemned this restriction, noting that this was the first time the Israeli authorities had denied Barghouthi a permit to the Gaza Strip.
the presidential guards have started distributing sweets (knaffeh) from their vehicles, marking this occasion of national unity.
For their part, the Israeli authorities have expressed deep reservations over the Mecca accords. During a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the Palestinian government "should abide by the Quartet's conditions before they talk about any political progress or dialogue with Israel".
The signing of the Mecca agreement
Fatah and Hamas have signed the Mecca agreement. The media advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil 'Amr, read the text of the agreement and the letter of assignment to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
The following came in the agreement text:
• Assuring the prohibition of Palestinian bloodshed and the assurance of national unity to achieve the legitimate aims of the Palestinian people.
• Agreeing on counting the language of dialogue as the basis for solving all conflicts between brothers.
• Agreeing on establishing a unity government and to start taking constitutional procedures to its dedication immediately.
• Agreeing on proceeding in the procedures of reform of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) based on the Cairo agreements and the Damascus announcement.
• Assuring the principle of political partnership on the basis of political pluralism.
Signed in Holy Mecca on 21 Muharam, 1428 in the hegira (Islamic) calendar [8th of February, 2007 A.D.]
The presidential advisor, Nabil 'Amr, also read the text of the letter of assignment that President 'Abbas will send to Prime Minister Haniyeh. The letter said:
"I call on you within the coming period, in accordance with the Basic Law, to form the national unity government.
"I also call on you as a head of the future government to commit to the supreme interests of the Palestinian people and to keep their acquisitions as confessed by the successive national councils and the Arab League's decisions, and to respect the PLO agreements".
President Mahmoud Abbas gave a speech in which he emphasized the complete commitment to the agreement. He also praised the distinguished efforts of the Saudis in completing the agreement.
The head of Hamas' political bureau, Khalid Mash'al, also gave a speech in which he assured the willingness of both sides to implement the agreement and cast aside disagreement. He also promised the Palestinian people and God to be committed to what has been agreed upon, and he praised the significant role of the Saudi monarch in achieving the agreement.
Prime Minister Haniyeh gave a speech in which he praised the significant efforts of Saudi Arabia in achieving the agreement of reconciliation between brothers and to put an end to the difficult and hard days.
For his part, the Saudi monarch, Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, congratulated the Palestinian leaders for achieving the agreement and for establishing a national unity government.
From his side, Fatah spokesman Maher Miqdad, who took part in the Fatah delegation in the Mecca dialogue, said that the subject of activating the PLO had featured in the discussions and it was agreed to continue the Cairo dialogue and the Damascus announcement. The participation of independent figures and the naming of Fatah and Hamas deputies will be completed within one month, he said, and this will be carried out in Gaza not in Mecca.
Miqdad also stressed the need to follow up the aftermath of the bloody internal fighting. He said that it is important to study the causes of the fighting while also dealing with all its consequences without leaving any dispute unresolved in order to avoid any return to the previous turmoil.
He said that all parties who signed the agreement declared their commitment to accurately following up this issue.
Miqdad also noted the need to respect the people who suffered during the internal clashes.
"It is not possible to summarize the subject of a political agreement without looking at the events … that happened previously," he said.
He added, "Some crimes … we have to deal with at higher levels, taking into consideration that there are lots of wounds and sufferings that are hard to ignore." He said that the situation required "a variety of initiatives by President Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas], or even by the head of government and factional leaders, as well as the tribal leaders."
King Abdullah of Jordan's peace initiative: scuppered by Abbas signing the Mecca deal
King Abdullah II of Jordan is apparently angry with Palestinian President Abbas for having signed the Mecca agreement, and therefore endangering a Middle East peace initiative he had planned, the Israeli paper 'Maariv' claimed on Tuesday.
According to the paper, King Abdullah has been working on this initiative for several months and he was planning to soon initiate secret negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Abbas without any involvement of Hamas. His initiative included demanding that Abbas call early elections, in which Hamas would fail. The Jordanian monarch would coordinate his initiative with other so-called moderate Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, in order to reach a regional peace agreement that would include the Arab countries' official recognition of Israel.
'Maariv' suggested that King Abdullah's plan would have been accepted by the USA and Israel. The plan was also tipped to make the Middle East a more peaceful region and to restrain the Shi'ite expansion in the region, which is worrying both Sunni-majority Jordan and Israel.
Abbas's signing of the Mecca agreement, thereby aligning himself with Hamas, scuppers Abdullah's plans, the paper says. As a result, King Abdullah II is angry with Abbas, 'Maariv' claims, and is now considering whether to go ahead with his plan or abandon it.
The paper adds that the Mecca deal also upset the other moderate Arab countries, including the broker of the deal, Saudi Arabia, who 'Maariv' says is reviewing its position.
The paper detailed the Jordanian monarch's plan as follows:
1. Secret talks between Olmert and Abbas
2. Abbas to announce early elections on the basis of mutual recognition between Israel and the Palestinian Authority
3. Overthrow the Hamas movement and sign a peace agreement with Israel
4. Launch diplomatic relations between the Arab states and Israel
5. Calm the situation in the Middle East, thereby reducing the level of terror
6. End the intifada
Yousef Alhelou is a freelance Palestinian journalist based in Gaza. He can be contacted on ydamadan@hotmail.com
Isma'il Haniyeh to form unity government in line with Mecca accords
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accepted the resignation of the Haniyeh government, and declared it an "interim government".
Prime Minister Haniyeh read his government's resignation to President Abbas in Gaza, while several prominent Hamas and Fatah leaders listened. Present in the meeting were Muhammad Dahlan, Azzam Al-Ahmad, and Dr Ziad Abu Amr, the controversial nominee for the portfolio of foreign affairs. Also attending were Khalil Abu Layla and Dr Ghazi Hamad.
Haniyeh declared, "in accordance with the Mecca agreement, I submit my resignation to pave the way for the formation of the future coalition government."
President Abbas approved the resignation and entrusted Isma'il Haniyeh to compose the future unity government within the timeframe permitted by law, a period of three weeks. After those three weeks, Haniyeh would still be within his rights to ask for a two week extension. The new government should be then be submitted to the president and to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) for approval.
In the letter of entrustment, President Abbas called for "commitment to the higher Palestinian interests, the resolutions of the Palestinian National Council and respect for existing treaties and resolutions of the international community".
Dr. Mustafa Al-Barghouthi, the head of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI), was supposed to attend the Abbas-Haniyeh meeting in Gaza on Thursday, but he was denied entry into the Gaza Strip by the Israeli occupation authorities. He had reportedly been applying for a permit for the last two weeks. The PNI condemned this restriction, noting that this was the first time the Israeli authorities had denied Barghouthi a permit to the Gaza Strip.
the presidential guards have started distributing sweets (knaffeh) from their vehicles, marking this occasion of national unity.
For their part, the Israeli authorities have expressed deep reservations over the Mecca accords. During a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the Palestinian government "should abide by the Quartet's conditions before they talk about any political progress or dialogue with Israel".
The signing of the Mecca agreement
Fatah and Hamas have signed the Mecca agreement. The media advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil 'Amr, read the text of the agreement and the letter of assignment to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
The following came in the agreement text:
• Assuring the prohibition of Palestinian bloodshed and the assurance of national unity to achieve the legitimate aims of the Palestinian people.
• Agreeing on counting the language of dialogue as the basis for solving all conflicts between brothers.
• Agreeing on establishing a unity government and to start taking constitutional procedures to its dedication immediately.
• Agreeing on proceeding in the procedures of reform of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) based on the Cairo agreements and the Damascus announcement.
• Assuring the principle of political partnership on the basis of political pluralism.
Signed in Holy Mecca on 21 Muharam, 1428 in the hegira (Islamic) calendar [8th of February, 2007 A.D.]
The presidential advisor, Nabil 'Amr, also read the text of the letter of assignment that President 'Abbas will send to Prime Minister Haniyeh. The letter said:
"I call on you within the coming period, in accordance with the Basic Law, to form the national unity government.
"I also call on you as a head of the future government to commit to the supreme interests of the Palestinian people and to keep their acquisitions as confessed by the successive national councils and the Arab League's decisions, and to respect the PLO agreements".
President Mahmoud Abbas gave a speech in which he emphasized the complete commitment to the agreement. He also praised the distinguished efforts of the Saudis in completing the agreement.
The head of Hamas' political bureau, Khalid Mash'al, also gave a speech in which he assured the willingness of both sides to implement the agreement and cast aside disagreement. He also promised the Palestinian people and God to be committed to what has been agreed upon, and he praised the significant role of the Saudi monarch in achieving the agreement.
Prime Minister Haniyeh gave a speech in which he praised the significant efforts of Saudi Arabia in achieving the agreement of reconciliation between brothers and to put an end to the difficult and hard days.
For his part, the Saudi monarch, Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, congratulated the Palestinian leaders for achieving the agreement and for establishing a national unity government.
From his side, Fatah spokesman Maher Miqdad, who took part in the Fatah delegation in the Mecca dialogue, said that the subject of activating the PLO had featured in the discussions and it was agreed to continue the Cairo dialogue and the Damascus announcement. The participation of independent figures and the naming of Fatah and Hamas deputies will be completed within one month, he said, and this will be carried out in Gaza not in Mecca.
Miqdad also stressed the need to follow up the aftermath of the bloody internal fighting. He said that it is important to study the causes of the fighting while also dealing with all its consequences without leaving any dispute unresolved in order to avoid any return to the previous turmoil.
He said that all parties who signed the agreement declared their commitment to accurately following up this issue.
Miqdad also noted the need to respect the people who suffered during the internal clashes.
"It is not possible to summarize the subject of a political agreement without looking at the events … that happened previously," he said.
He added, "Some crimes … we have to deal with at higher levels, taking into consideration that there are lots of wounds and sufferings that are hard to ignore." He said that the situation required "a variety of initiatives by President Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas], or even by the head of government and factional leaders, as well as the tribal leaders."
King Abdullah of Jordan's peace initiative: scuppered by Abbas signing the Mecca deal
King Abdullah II of Jordan is apparently angry with Palestinian President Abbas for having signed the Mecca agreement, and therefore endangering a Middle East peace initiative he had planned, the Israeli paper 'Maariv' claimed on Tuesday.
According to the paper, King Abdullah has been working on this initiative for several months and he was planning to soon initiate secret negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Abbas without any involvement of Hamas. His initiative included demanding that Abbas call early elections, in which Hamas would fail. The Jordanian monarch would coordinate his initiative with other so-called moderate Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, in order to reach a regional peace agreement that would include the Arab countries' official recognition of Israel.
'Maariv' suggested that King Abdullah's plan would have been accepted by the USA and Israel. The plan was also tipped to make the Middle East a more peaceful region and to restrain the Shi'ite expansion in the region, which is worrying both Sunni-majority Jordan and Israel.
Abbas's signing of the Mecca agreement, thereby aligning himself with Hamas, scuppers Abdullah's plans, the paper says. As a result, King Abdullah II is angry with Abbas, 'Maariv' claims, and is now considering whether to go ahead with his plan or abandon it.
The paper adds that the Mecca deal also upset the other moderate Arab countries, including the broker of the deal, Saudi Arabia, who 'Maariv' says is reviewing its position.
The paper detailed the Jordanian monarch's plan as follows:
1. Secret talks between Olmert and Abbas
2. Abbas to announce early elections on the basis of mutual recognition between Israel and the Palestinian Authority
3. Overthrow the Hamas movement and sign a peace agreement with Israel
4. Launch diplomatic relations between the Arab states and Israel
5. Calm the situation in the Middle East, thereby reducing the level of terror
6. End the intifada
Yousef Alhelou is a freelance Palestinian journalist based in Gaza. He can be contacted on ydamadan@hotmail.com