Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday after the swearing-in ceremony for his cabinet in Gaza that the Hamas government is prepared to give a chance to negotiations between Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Israel.
‘The problem is not the Palestinian side or its consent to negotiations, but that Israel does not honor commitments it already undertook in negotiations,’ Haniyeh said.
‘If the Authority chairman, as the elected president, wants to get the negotiations moving, we have no objection to that. If what Abu Mazen [Abbas] presents to the people as a result of negotiations serves its interest, then we too will redefine our position,’ he said.
The Palestinian cabinet, compirising of 24 members (including Haniyeh) was sworn in at a ceremony held simultaneously in Gaza and Ramallah by means of video conference.
The 14 ministers from the West Bank and 10 from the Gaza Strip will not be able to attend cabinet meetings together because of the Israeli ban on traveling from one region to the other.
Haniyeh promises to cooperate with Abbas
After the ceremony, Haniyeh also promised to cooperate fully with Abbas' office ‘in the international and Arab arenas.’
He added that Hamas was trying to ensure salary payments in the PA in coming months, and that he planned on introducing gradual reforms in the PA, not speedy ‘revolutions.’
Hamas leaders said the process of handing over the ministries will begin Thursday afternoon, when outgoing Palestinian foreign minister Nasser al-Kidwa passes the reins to Dr. Mahmoud Zahar.
The new finance minister, Omar Abdel Razeq, said Wednesday that he is willing to meet Israeli officials to discuss economic matters related to managing daily life. ‘The existing frameworks in the finance ministry that run the talks with Israel will also continue functioning,’ he added.
Israel: Liaising with Hamas officials problematic
Israel took a cautious line in responding to Haniyeh's cabinet, in contrast to its belligerent stance following Hamas' election victory two months ago.
Sources in the defense establishment told Haaretz Wednesday night that the question of relations with the PA will be discussed Thursday at Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz's weekly situation assessment with senior IDF and Shin Bet officials.
They said that officers have not been given any new directives regarding coordinating security with their colleagues in the PA. The officers understand they cannot liaise with officials and security people affiliated with Hamas, but that meetings are otherwise permitted for now, sources said.
The United States, meanwhile, has issued a notice to its diplomats regarding contact with Palestinian officials. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday that diplomats were instructed to clarify beforehand whether officials were affiliated with Hamas, since U.S. law forbids any exchange with members of a terrorist organization.
Abbas arrived back Wednesday for the cabinet's swearing-in ceremony after attending the Arab Summit meeting in Sudan. Before leaving Khartoum, Abbas called on the new Israeli leadership ‘to work to stop the wars and threats and to choose the option of peace.’
‘We are prepared to resume immediate negotiations with Israel but the new government must abandon the intention to impose solutions in a unilateral manner,’ Abbas said.
Meanwhile, the armed groups in Gaza, including ones from Fatah, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees, announced they would continue their armed struggle against Israel. Islamic Jihad, which launched a Katyusha rocket into Israel on Tuesday, announced it also had Russian-made Grad missiles, and that it intended to increase its launches into Israel.