FILE PHOTO: Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah attends a meeting as the head of Hamas-run security forces in Gaza, Tawfiq Abu Naeem, speaks at Hamas-run Ministry of Interior in Gaza City December 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah has tendered his resignation and that of his unity government to President Mahmoud Abbas, he said on Tuesday, dealing a blow to faltering reconciliation efforts with Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas.

Abbas said in a statement that he accepted the resignation and that the government will “continue its duties until the new government is formed.”

A Hamas official condemned the move as an attempt to marginalize and exclude the group from Palestinian politics.

Hamdallah, a little-known academic, headed the national unity government formed in 2014 and led the West Bank-based Fatah’s reconciliation efforts with Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007.

The two groups signed a reconciliation deal two years ago which set in motion a plan for Abbas’s Palestinian Authority to resume governing in Gaza and take control of the coastal enclave’s crossing points into Egypt and Israel.

But disputes over power-sharing and policy toward Israel have hampered the deal’s implementation.

“The president will begin consultation to form a political government made up by factions of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) that will prepare for the holding of new parliamentary election,” Abbas said.</s>Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Monday offered to resign, amid efforts by President Mahmoud Abbas to form a new government, AFP reported. The move is seen as part of attempts by Abbas to further isolate his political rivals Hamas amid a deepening of a decade-long split in Palestinian politics. Hamdallah has “put his government at the disposal of President Mahmoud Abbas,” the prime minister’s spokesperson Yussef al-Mahmoud said. The central committee of Abbas’s Fatah movement recommended late Sunday the formation of a new government that would comprise members of the Palestine Liberation Organization.</s>Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has submitted his resignation to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, complicating efforts at reconciliation with Gaza's Hamas rulers.

"The prime minister and his ministers welcome the Fatah Central Committee's decision to form a new government," said Palestinian Authority government spokesperson Yusuf al-Mahmoud in a statement. "Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has placed his government at the disposal of the President of the Authority," he added, hinting at impending resignations within the cabinet.

Hamdallah’s resignation came just days after Abbas asked him to step down, according to reports. The move will likely hamper an already delicate relationship with Gaza’s Hamas rules, but Abbas does not want Hamas to be excluded from the new government to be formed.

"We hope that all Palestinian factions will participate in this (new) government and I appeal to the Hamas movement to participate," he said.

Hamas officials, however, have described the move as an attempt to exclude the group from Palestinian politics.

"The announcement of the formation of a new government is a recognition of the tragedies and disasters caused by the government of al Hamdallah, and there is no legitimacy for any future government without national consensus," Sami Abu Zuhri, official spokesman for Hamas, wrote on Twitter.

Hamdallah headed the national unity government formed in 2015 and led Fatah’s reconciliation efforts with Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007. The two groups signed an agreement two years ago which called for Abbas’ Palestinian Authority to gradually resume governance over Gaza.</s>RAMALLAH: Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah has tendered his resignation and that of his unity government to President Mahmoud Abbas, he said on Tuesday, dealing a blow to faltering reconciliation efforts with Gaza`s Islamist Hamas rulers.

The government will continue to carry out its duties until a new one is formed, he said in a statement issued after a weekly cabinet meeting.

There was no immediate comment from Abbas, but his Fatah faction, at a meeting he chaired two days ago, recommended that the government be replaced. A Hamas official condemned the move as an attempt to marginalise and exclude the group from Palestinian politics.

Hamdallah, a little-known academic, headed the national unity government formed in 2014 and led the West Bank-based Fatah`s reconciliation efforts with Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007.

The two groups signed a reconciliation deal two years ago which set in motion a plan for Abbas`s Palestinian Authority to resume governing in Gaza and take up control of the coastal enclave`s crossing points into Egypt and Israel.

But disputes over power-sharing and disagreements over policy towards Israel have hampered the deal`s implementation.</s>Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analyses from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah announced on Tuesday that he has submitted his government’s resignation to PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The government, he said, will continue to carry out its duties until the formation of a new one.



Hamdallah was speaking during the weekly meeting of the PA government in Ramallah. He expressed hope that consultations to establish a new government will be successful as soon as possible. “The success of any government requires the confidence of the Palestinian citizen,” Hamdallah said.

It was not immediately clear whether Abbas had accepted the resignation of Hamdallah.Abbas has been facing pressure from his ruling Fatah action to remove Hamdallah from power and establish a new government consisting of PLO factions and independent figures.On Sunday, the Fatah Central Council recommended that PA President Mahmoud Abbas form a government consisting of representatives of various PLO factions and independent figures.Hamdallah’s Ramallah-based cabinet is called the Palestinian National Consensus Government because it was established following understandings reached between Fatah and Hamas in 2014.Fatah leaders said that in the wake of the continued crisis between their faction and Hamas, there was no point in keeping the present government in power. Some Fatah officials are also dissatisfied with the performance of Hamdallah and say they would like to see one of them replace him as prime minister.Although he is affiliated with Fatah, Hamdallah – who previously served as president of An-Najah University in Nablus – does not hold any official position in the faction.Fatah officials also believe that since their faction is the largest group in the PLO, it should have a strong presence in any government.“Fatah’s call for forming a new government consisting of PLO factions will solidify the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said on Monday. “Our people are in need of a national unity government that would represent all Palestinians.”

Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>></s>Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has resigned, just days after Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas announced plans to form a new government.

In a statement today, PA spokesperson Yusuf Al-Mahmoud said that “the prime minister and his ministers welcome [Fatah, the Palestinian faction which dominates the PA]’s decision to form a new government,” adding that:

Hamdallah confirmed the statement in a tweet, writing that:

Hamdallah’s resignation came following a request by Abbas this weekend after the latter announced that a new Palestinian government would be formed. Commentators have seen this as a bid by Fatah to strengthen its grip over the PA in the wake of declining popular support and challenges from other Palestinian factions, namely Hamas – which governs the besieged Gaza Strip.

Though Hamdallah is affiliated with Fatah, he does not hold an official position in the organization. Some Fatah leaders have been disappointed with his performance as prime minister, leading them to seek a “friendlier” alternative, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Although it not yet clear who will head the new government, some names have already been floated, including Minister of the Palestinian Economic Council Mohammed Shtayyeh; Secretary of the PLO’s Executive Committee Saeb Erekat; and Member of Fatah’s Executive Committee Azzam Al-Ahmed.

Abbas’ new government will be comprised only of members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – a symbolic umbrella organization made up of a number of Palestinian factions. However, since Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not part of the PLO, they will not be included in the new government.

The move has been interpreted as a deliberate bid to exclude Hamas – which won the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections in 2006 – from the government. Hamas has slammed Abbas’ plans, with the movement’s spokesman Fawzi Barhoum saying:

Other Palestinian factions have refused to take part in forming the new government, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

Fatah and Hamas have been engaged in a bitter feud since the latter’s victory in the PLC elections. When Fatah refused to cede control of the government, a war broke out between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip. Hamas emerged victoriously and has governed the besieged enclave since 2007.

The current PA government has been in place since mid-2014 and was meant to act as a “national unity government” following a reconciliation deal between Fatah and Hamas. However, the deal quickly broke down in the wake of Israel’s 2014 war on Gaza. Since then, Abbas has rebuffed any engagement with Hamas, imposing sanctions on the Strip, refusing to hold elections and dissolving the PLC.</s>Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and his Cabinet, according to the official news agency Wafa.

Abbas has now appointed Hamdallah the caretaker prime minister until a new Cabinet is formed.

Earlier Tuesday, Hamdallah announced submitting the resignation of his Cabinet, following a recommendation by the Central Committee of Fatah group in order to form a new government.

On Sunday, Fatah recommended formation of a new government from the factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization and independent figures.

Fatah justified the move with the "intransigence of Hamas and its refusal to deal with the government of national reconciliation.”

Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since the former seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 from Fatah after street fighting.

Since September 2013, Hamdallah chaired the government, commissioned by Abbas, and in February 2014 the former formed the government of national reconciliation with understanding between all Palestinian factions.

This article has been adapted from its original source.</s>Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and his cabinet, according to the official news agency Wafa, in a move seen as a bid by Abbas to strengthen his position as a decade-old political split deepens.

Hamdallah was later appointed caretaker prime minister by Abbas until a new cabinet is formed.

Replacing Hamdallah after five years is seen by analysts to be part of Abbas' efforts to further isolate his political rival Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Tuesday, Hamdallah announced submitting the resignation of his cabinet, following a recommendation by the Central Committee of Fatah group, in order to form a new government from the factions of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and independent figures.

Fatah justified the move with the "intransigence of Hamas and its refusal to deal with the government of national reconciliation". But a Hamas official condemned it as an attempt to marginalise and exclude the group from Palestinian politics.

Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since the former gained control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Since then Abbas' governments have maintained limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank, while Hamas has led a rival government in Gaza.

The two groups signed a reconciliation deal two years ago which set in motion a plan for Abbas' Palestinian Authority to resume governing in Gaza and take control of the coastal enclave's crossing points into Egypt and Israel.

But disputes over power-sharing and policy towards Israel have hampered the deal's implementation.

"The president will begin consultation to form a political government made up by factions of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) that will prepare for the holding of new parliamentary election," Abbas said.

It remains unclear how the change of government could impact on policy. Abbas remains the primary decision maker and interlocutor with the international community.

Since September 2013, Hamdallah chaired the government, commissioned by Abbas, and in February 2014 the former formed the government of national reconciliation with understanding between all Palestinian factions.

The division between the Palestinian parties is seen as a key issue preventing progress in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and improving the situation in the impoverished enclave.</s>RAMALLAH: Palestinian officials say President Mahmoud Abbas has decided to shake up his government.

The move is the latest sign of failure in more than a decade of attempts to reconcile with the rival Hamas movement.

The officials say Abbas appointed a four-member committee from his Fatah movement on Sunday to consult with political factions about forming a new government.

The three officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal deliberations.

The official Wafa news agency said Fatah had decided to form a political government to replace the current Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah's Cabinet of technocrats.

Hamdallah's government was formed in 2013 following a power sharing agreement with Hamas. But the government couldn't assume its responsibilities in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip ruled due to deep disputes.</s>Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah tendered his resignation on Tuesday, a spokesman said.

“He and the rest of the government ministers resigned,” Ahmad Shami, one of Hamdallah’s spokesmen, told The Times of Israel, adding that PA President Mahmoud Abbas would now have to decide whether to accept their resignations.

Hamdallah’s decision to resign came two days after the Fatah Central Committee recommended the formation of a government made up of representatives of factions in the Palestine Liberation Organization and independent personalities.

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Shami said that if Abbas accepts their resignations, Hamdallah and the other PA ministers would continue to serve until the formation of a new government.

Fatah Central Committee Member Azzam al-Ahmad said on Sunday that the Palestinians planned to form a new government in response to Hamas not handing over the Gaza Strip to the PA.

“We plan to form a new government of factions soon in response to Hamas’s failure to undertake its national responsibility in handing over the Gaza Strip to the legitimate PA,” Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior Fatah and Palestine Liberation Organization official, told The Times of Israel. “Hamas helped form the last government. This time, it will not participate in its formation or be a part of it.”

Hamas condemned the government’s resignation, saying Abbas was seeking to establish a “separatist government” to serve his interests.

The Palestinians formed the current PA government in 2014 with the support of both PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah and Hamas. Since its establishment, however, Abbas has carried out at least two cabinet reshuffles without Hamas’s consent.

Fatah and Hamas have been at loggerheads since 2007, when the terror group forcibly ousted the Fatah-dominated PA from Gaza.

While the two rival parties have signed multiple agreements to advance reconciliation and bring Gaza and the West Bank under one government, they have not implemented them.

Asked who would serve as prime minister in a new PA government, Ahmad said the Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership including Fatah has not discussed the names of any possible candidates.

“Until now, absolutely no names at all have been discussed. All the rumors are totally false,” the senior Fatah official said. “Even my name has come up and no one has asked me about the job, nor have I asked about it myself.”

In a separate interview with the An-Najah Broadcasting Channel on Monday, Ahmad reiterated that the Palestinians have not spoken about the names of candidates for PA prime minister.

The Kan public broadcaster, however, quoted Palestinian sources on Sunday as assessing that Fatah Central Committee member Muhammed Shtayyeh was the front-runner to become the next PA prime minister.

Shtayyeh, a native of Nablus, formerly served as a Palestinian negotiator and PA minister of public works and housing; he has long worked on government and donor-funded infrastructure projects in the West Bank.

Hamdallah, who previously was the president of An-Najah University, where he once was a professor of the English language, also resigned in 2013 following a dispute with then-Deputy PA prime minister Mohammed Mustafa, according to a Palestinian official, who requested anonymity.

“Mustafa signed an agreement with an international institution that Prime Minister Hamdallah was supposed to sign,” the official said. “Hamdallah then resigned but came back to the job after he was assured he would be in charge of signing agreements with international groups.”

Hamdallah hails from Anabta, a village in the northern West Bank. Three of his children were killed in a car accident between Tulkarem and Nablus in 1998.

The official added that he expected Hamdallah would return to his academic work in the near future.

Abbas has also pledged to hold new parliamentary elections in the coming six months, but how that would be possible in Gaza is unclear.

Hamas won the last parliamentary polls, in 2006, against expectations. Israel, the United States and other Western powers, which all consider Hamas a terrorist organization, rejected the result.

Hamas and Israel have fought three wars in Gaza since then.

Rumors of a new government have been swirling in recent weeks, and Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri attacked such a plan.

“The formation of any government apart from a national consensus one is a continuation of the unilateral actions taken by Fatah,” he tweeted Sunday. “Such a government will enjoy no legitimacy.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah, along with his unity government, resign from President Mahmoud Abbas's government.