Hamas cabinet resigns to make way for unity government
(16 Feb 2007) ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 1. Exterior Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' offices in Gaza City 2. Guards at entrance to offices 3. Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh entering room 4. Mid of Abbas 5. Wide of news conference 6. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ismail Haniyeh, Palestinian Prime Minister: "To apply my resignation to give the chance to start the constitutional procedures to form the national unity government, the 11th government, asking Allah to approach the freedom, coming back and independence." 6. Cutaway cameraman 7. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President : "We are charging you to form the upcoming Palestinian government within the limited mentioned period in the basic law which is three weeks, and two weeks to be added. After accomplishing forming the government and presenting it to the Palestinian legislative council for a vote of confidence We call you as Prime Minister to be committed to the Palestinian people's interests and to protect their rights and their vested rights and to develop it and to work on achieving their national goals, as it was ratified by the decisions of the Palestinian national councils and the national accord draft and the Arab summits decisions. And according to that I call you to respect the international legitimacy decisions and the agreements which were signed by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation." 9. Cutaway cameraman 10. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ismail Haniyeh, Palestinian Prime Minister: "And I'm glad to accept the letter of credence and the Palestinian unity government will work according to it, asking Allah to help us in implementing the tasks." 8. Haniyeh handing document to Abbas, leaders shaking hands and embracing ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 9. Guards at entrance to offices 10. Exterior of Abbas' office STORYLINE The Hamas Cabinet resigned on Thursday to make way for a coalition with the rival Fatah movement. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave his blessing, despite what his aides said was a warning by the US that Washington would shun the new coalition. Abbas presided over a brief ceremony in which Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas submitted the resignation of his Cabinet, ending months of stop-and-go power-sharing negotiations. Abbas then asked Haniyeh, now head of a caretaker government, to form a Hamas-Fatah coalition within five weeks. In his letter of appointment, Abbas said the new government must "respect" international agreements, a wording that implies acceptance of Israel, but falls short of international demands of an explicit recognition. "We call you as Prime Minister to be committed to the Palestinian people's interests and to protect their rights and their vested rights and to develop it and to work on achieving their national goals," Abbas told Haniyeh. "I'm glad to accept the letter of credence and the Palestinian unity government will work according to it, asking Allah to help us in implementing the tasks," Haniyeh said in response. In Washington, a US State Department spokesman would not confirm the report of a possible US boycott of the new government, saying only that the US would not judge a Palestinian administration until it had been formed, and that its performance would be reviewed. The international demands have put Abbas in a difficult position. Had he pulled out of the deal with Hamas, he could have been branded a traitor by his own people, become increasingly ineffective and triggered more factional fighting. Since May, more than 130 Palestinians have been killed in Fatah-Hamas clashes. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
