Palestinian government reaches power-sharing deal

A power-sharing deal by rival factions won approval of the Palestinian parliament on Mar. 17, ending a year of one-party rule by the militant Hamas movement and producing the first crack in an international aid embargo against the Palestinian Authority. Members of the Palestinian parliament jumped to a standing ovation after giving the coalition of Hamas, its more moderate rival Fatah and some smaller parties an 83-3 vote of confidence after two hours of debate. Later, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas swore in the 25-member Cabinet. Israel said immediately that the formation of the new government under Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas was a "step backwards" and vowed not to deal with any of its ministers whether they were in Hamas or not. But European governments–including France and Britain–struck a different note in signaling that they would seek to maintain contacts with non-Hamas members of the new government, not least the internationally respected former World Bank official Salam Fayad, who returns to his old pre-election job as finance minister. After Hamas won elections last year, the US, the EU, Russia and the UN–the so-called "Quartet" of Middle East mediators–backed an aid embargo, saying it would be lifted only if the Palestinian government recognized Israel, renounced violence and accepted previous Arab-Israeli peace agreements. Hamas' only concessions in the program on Mar. 17 were a declaration that the government would "respect" those peace accords and the addition of the words "especially nonviolent resistance" to the sentence in the program about resisting Israeli occupation by any means. While Hamas as a movement has not abandoned its long-term doctrine of a single Palestine from the Jordan to the Mediterranean rivers, Haniyeh said the aim of the new government was to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel on the borders before the Six Day War in 1967. Hamas has offered a long-term truce in return for such a state and said it will not prevent Abbas from negotiating one with Israel. But Miri Eisin, spokeswoman to Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, seized on comments by Haniyeh in which he affirmed "that resistance in all its means" against occupation was a legitimate Palestinian right. The US, which has followed Israel's lead, remained cool to the new government. "The national unity government's platform reference to the right of resistance is disturbing and contradicts the Quartet principle of renunciation of violence," State Department spokeswoman Nancy Beck said. The Bush administration's position on the embargo is crucial because the US could use restrictions on banks to prevent other countries from sending funds directly to the new Palestinian government. The US said on Mar. 16 that its ban on direct aid to the Palestinian government would remain in place and the US consulate in Jerusalem said Washington would continue to shun Hamas ministers in the new Palestinian cabinet but permit contacts with non-Hamas members on a case-by-case basis. The decision to allow some contacts marked a shift in US policy and a split with Israel, which said it would boycott the new government in its entirety. Moments after the Palestinian Legislative Council's vote of confidence, Norway recognized the new coalition government and said it was restoring political and economic ties. They were cut off after Hamas came to power last year and refused to renounce calls for Israel's destruction. Norway's left-of-center government became the first to break with the international boycott, and its announcement raised expectations that other European countries would follow suit. Norway is not an EU member but has long been an active player in Middle East diplomacy and a contributor to the Palestinian Authority. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the new government's program "took into account" the Quartet's conditions for lifting the boycott. France has invited the new Palestinian foreign minister, Ziad abu Amr, to visit Paris. The British Foreign Office has called the formation of the new government a positive step and said it plans to have contacts with non-Hamas officials of the Cabinet. Egypt and Qatar called for an end to the boycott. Representatives from Norway, Germany, Portugal, Jordan, Egypt, Chile, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, the EU and the UN attended the parliamentary session as observers. The EU and the UN welcomed the new government but said a resumption of aid would depend on an assessment of its actions. "This is a significant step in the right direction," Alvaro de Soto, special UN coordinator for the Middle East, told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "We will be watching with interest to see how this program is implemented."