RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – The Palestinian cabinet resigned yesterday, in an apparent attempt by President Mahmoud Abbas to show his willingness for change in the wake of a popular uprising in Egypt.
The new cabinet will be charged with preparing for elections that have been announced for later this year, and will also be expected to boost the government’s profile as it seeks international backing in its standoff with Israel.
Hamas, which has sour relations with Abbas, says it will not take part in the ballot or recognise the results — a decision that will make it hard for Abbas to stage a credible vote.
The latest reshuffle had been demanded by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who has spearheaded efforts to create institutions for a Palestinian state. The Western-backed Fayyad will retain his post and select new ministers, officials said.
“The cabinet resigned today and the formation of a new cabinet will take place as soon as possible,” Ali Jarbawi, minister of planning, told Reuters. Financed by international donors and engaged in security coordination with Israel, the Palestinian Authority has a limited mandate in the occupied West Bank. It lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists in a 2007 civil war. Abbas’s credibility has been further sapped by stalled talks with Israel on a deal to establish an independent state, and the Palestinians have increasingly looked to build international consensus to try to pressure Israel into making concessions.
Hamas, which rejects permanent co-existence with Israel, said the reshuffle was motivated by Abbas’s fears that the Palestinians would follow the lead of angry Egyptians.
“Unless Mahmoud Abbas carries out serious security and political reforms, his authority will be subject to the wrath of the Palestinian people,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in the Gaza Strip.
Although several anti-Abbas protests bubbled up in the West Bank after the upheaval began in Egypt on Jan. 25, he has not faced large-scale demonstrations in the territory, whose economy has strengthened significantly in recent years.
However, 75-year-old Abbas has faced public criticism over the functioning of his government. Of the 24 posts in the outgoing administration, only 16 were staffed. Two ministers resigned and six are marooned in Gaza.
Abbas said the new cabinet should focus on “strengthening the preparedness of the national institutions for the establishment of the state of independent Palestine”, according to the official news agency WAFA.
