Abbas backs Hamas govt

Hamas says it has completed the formation of its government without succeeding to bring in moderate parties...

Hamas says it has completed the formation of its government without succeeding to bring in moderate parties, a step that looked likely to only increase the chances of international isolation.

The narrow government to be presented to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a meeting on Sunday could bring on crippling economic sanctions that the World Bank has warned would devastate the poverty-stricken Palestinian territories.

Abbas will approve the Hamas government—which does not include his Fatah Party, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh said.

But he will warn the Islamic militant group, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, that their refusal to moderate their hard-line positions could “get them into trouble,” the spokesman said.

Hamas’ Cabinet lineup has not been made public, but officials in the group said it would hold onto key posts including the foreign, interior and finance ministries.

Abbas was elected separately last year to a four-year term and wields considerable authority. However, he cannot impose his own Cabinet lineup on Hamas, which swept January’s parliament elections and controls an absolute majority in the legislature. Aides said Abbas does not want to cause a full-blown political crisis.

“Abu Mazen will not place obstacles before the Hamas government,” Abu Rdeneh said, referring to the name by which Abbas is widely known.

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The Palestinian parliament will not be asked to approve the new Hamas government until after Israel’s March 28 election.

In another development, the Israeli army opened an investigation into the killing of an 8-year-old girl who was shot to death while riding in a car to have stitches removed in the West Bank.

At a news conference on Saturday, Hamas’ Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh did not give details of his party’s government platform or the names of the new Cabinet ministers, saying he would wait until after his meeting with Abbas to make the information public.

“Following the deep consultations with all the factions, the movement has decided to move a step forward and to form the government,” Haniyeh said. “The movement decided to leave the door open before all the factions that have not given their final decision, like our brothers in the PFLP.”

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The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small, radical PLO faction, is not expected to join Hamas’ government. On Saturday, PFLP lawmaker Jamil Majdalawi said differences remained between the two groups.

Israel and the international community have said they will not have contact with a Hamas-led government unless the movement recognises Israel, accepts previous Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements and denounces violence. Hamas has rejected these conditions.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the international community must be united in demanding Hamas accept the conditions, which have UN backing.—IBRAHIM BARZAK