RAMALLAH/GAZA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Western-backed
Palestinian economist Salam Fayyad took the oath as a prime minister in front of
President Mahmoud Abbas late Tuesday afternoon in the West Bank city of Ramallah
amid Hamas opposition.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad stand with members of the new Palestinian
cabinet following a swearing in ceremony in the West Bank city of
Ramallah, Tuesday, May 19, 2009. (Xinhua/AFP photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Fayyad's government was sworn in amid large
Palestinian opposition to join it, among which Hamas movement slammed forming it
while Fatah has officially announced that it decided to officially boycott
joining Fayyad's government.
Fayyad, the new Prime Minister of the new larger
government was the first to stand in front of President Mahmoud Abbas at
al-Muqata'a, the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, put his right hand on
the Quran, the Moslems Holy Book, and read the oath.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
(front) is escorted by a bodyguard after attending a local conference in
the West Bank city of Ramallah March 8, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
Other members of the new cabinet followed Fayyad and
were sworn in before President Mahmoud Abbas. The ceremony was also presented by
chief of Abbas headquarters Tayeb Abdel Rahim.
Abdel Rahim said that there are some ministers who
were not able to attend the sworn-in ceremony "for obligatory circumstances,"
without revealing or saying what are these circumstances.
After all the attending ministers made the oath
before Abbas, Abdel Rahim said that "this decree is obligatory and it will be
valid starting from today."
The Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza
Strip, has slammed the formation of a new larger Palestinian government, saying
this government was illegal, formed by an illegal president.
"Abu Mazen's (Abbas) decision to form a new
government in the West Bank in this tie and during the national dialogue would
boost political, constitutional and legal chaos," Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman
in Gaza, said in a statement.
"This government will remain illegal and illegitimate
and we will not recognize it or deal with it," Barhoum added.
Hamas and Fatah had failed in five separate rounds of
dialogue to form a unity government that rules both Gaza and West Bank.
Hamas parliamentary block in the parliament also
slammed in a statement the formation of a new government in Ramallah, saying
"this is totally illegal government and won't be recognize by Hamas."
When Fayyad's government excludes Hamas, the second
largest Palestinian faction after Fatah, which basically not to recognize Fayyad
and its resigned caretaker government, the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP) also said it is confident that it will not join.
The large government is made up of 24 members, in
which ten portfolios were given to Fatah, including the interior ministry, but
Abbas' Fatah party officially boycotted it.
Azzam al-Ahmad, the chief of Fatah parliamentary
bloc, said his movement's official decision was to boycott the government.
He justified Fatah's boycott to Fayyad's government
is "because Fayyad addressed Fatah individually; offering the ministers to join
through personal contacts away from the main official address of Fatah."
"The Fatah members joined the government on their
personal capacities," al-Ahmad told reporters following a meeting of Fatah
parliamentary block in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) held in
Ramallah before the oath.
Two of ten Fatah ministers in the caretaker
government decided not to join the new government, while eight of them,
including the minister of interior affairs Said Abu Ali, decided to continue and
did the oath before President Abbas.
Abbas would rule out his bitter rival Hamas from
joining this government which will control the West Bank but will also be
responsible to pay salaries for the Palestinian National Authority(PNA)
employees who are based in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The PFLP and the People Party were the only factions
of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to refuse joining Fayyad's
government due to the legal controversy over it.
In June 2007, after Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces and
seized control of the Gaza Strip, Fayyad formed a caretaker government in the
West Bank but today the independent prime minister is expanding his cabinet.
The new reshuffle is made after Hamas and Fatah
failed on Monday to reach an agreement on a unity government that would be
ruling the West Bank and Gaza.
They agreed to resume their reconciliation talks in
July and Abbas decided to announce the expansion of Fayyad's government that
will quit as soon as Hamas and Fatah broker a reconciliation agreement.
GAZA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Hamas movement
said on Tuesday Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to form a new
government boosts political chaos.
"Abu Mazen's (Abbas) decision to from a new government in
the West Bank at this time and during the national dialogue boosts the
political, constitutional and legal chaos," said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for
the Islamic movement which controls the Gaza Strip. Full story
RAMALLAH, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Local media sources
published on Tuesday the names of the Palestinian ministers in the new larger
Palestinian cabinet headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, which is expected to
be sworn in later Tuesday night.
The Gaza-based Ramattan news agency quoted
Palestinian well-informed sources as saying that Fayyad and the members of the
large cabinet will hold a meeting Tuesday evening and will make an official
announcement about forming the new larger Palestinian government. Full story
