Hamas Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniya delivered his proposed 24-member cabinet list to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on March 19 after weeks of negotiation failed to persuade other Palestinian factions to join his government.
Abbas hedged on whether he would give his approval, although aides say he is likely to do so. The approval of Abbas would enable the proposed lineup to be sent for confirmation to the 132-member parliament, where Hamas holds an absolute majority as a result of a landslide election victory in January.
Haniya declined to release the names of cabinet members, except to say the list includes “professionals, experts and technocrats.” It seems certain that Hamas has to name its party members, even hardliners, to key cabinet posts, including foreign minister, interior minister and finance minister.
While Hamas attributes the failure to form a national unity government to pressure from the United States, major factions said serious differences over Hamas’ political program prevented them from joining the new government.
The formation of a solo Hamas government is believed to give the Palestinians’ major Western aid donors, including the United States and the EU, more leverage to push for a more moderate stance: to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept all previous accords between Israel and the Palestinians. Hamas has so far rejected these positions.
In the government program submitted to Abbas, Hamas stopped short of recognizing past agreements with Israel or various peace initiatives, but rather used the more flexible wording of “addressing them with a great sense of responsibility.”
The EU on March 20 handed the United Nations a check for around 64 million euros in urgent aid for destitute Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, but warned that future aid hinges on the attitudes of the new Hamas government. On the other hand, promising Palestinian Finance Minister Omar Abdel Razek said Hamas could seek alternative funding from Arab and Muslim allies if Western donors follow through on threats to cut aid.
Israel has halted the transfer of tax revenues owed to the Palestinian Authority in a bid to isolate Hamas since February 19, when the Hamas-led parliament was sworn in. After the announcement of the handover of the cabinet lineup, an Israeli government spokesman repeated its stance of not transferring any money until the Hamas-led government gives up its extreme anti-Israel position.