Palestinian PM Resigns

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has tendered his resignation to the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. The move is in preparation for a national unity government between the Fatah faction and Hamas. Since June 2007, Hamas has run Gaza while Fatah's writ covered the West Bank. A government of national unity would be a step forward in the endless talking about peace in the Middle East.

Mr. Fayyad will remain in office while the actual details of the government of national unity get negotiated. It wouldn't do to have a power vacuum. At the end of the month, an initial report on those details is due, and the world will get a sense of just what the state of play is. This is the culmination of talks among various Palestinian committees set up to heal the rift.

The question is whether the rift is amenable to healing. Fatah and Hamas may be able to put aside past differences and ideology in favor of a pragmatic accommodation. However, these two bodies have not always seen eye to eye. Indeed, Hamas is overtly Islamic while Fatah is more secular. Complicating matters further is the Hamas victory in the 2006 election. Why should a party that won election surrender any power at all?

Seen from the Israeli side of the border, Hamas is a terrorist body with which one cannot and should not negotiate. Moreover, the Netanyahu government in Tel Aviv is composed of people whose initial reaction to any development is greater hawkishness. If creating a new Palestinian government would paper over the diplomatic crack enough for talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to resume, Hamas could wisely find a way to let Fatah take the lead but not run the show.

This being the Middle East, though, reason doesn't always prevail. Millions of dollars in humanitarian aid await disbursement, but the funding was conditional on it passing through Mr. Fayyad's hands rather than those of Hamas. With Gaza hit hard by the Israeli invasion of last year, there is a real need for that money now for the civilian population there. Yet, it could be delayed until such time as the face of the new government is clearer. One isn't sure if this is one step forward and two backwards or the other way around.

© Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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