posted March 15, 2007 09:40 AM            

The new coalition unites the radical Islamist Hamas movement with president Mahmud Abbas's secular Fatah party and was formed after weeks of wrangling over the lineup.

"We hope that this government will mark the start of a new era and enable us to turn the page," prime minister-designate Ismail Haniya of Hamas said after submitting the list of ministers to Abbas.

"We are going to do everything in our power to strengthen national unity, obtain a lifting of the siege imposed on the Palestinian people and improve our links with the international commuinity."

The Palestinian parliament is expected to vote on the new cabinet on Saturday.

The international Quartet for Middle East peace -- the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States -- slapped an aid freeze on the Palestinian government a year ago when Hamas, considered a terror group by Israel and the West, came to power.

It has insisted that the Palestinian government renounce violence, recognise Israel and agree to abide by past peace deals for the flow of funds to resume and it was not yet clear whether it would modify the approach.

The EU said it would stick to its wait-and-see stance until it had a chance to study the new cabinet lineup.

"As we have said many times we are going to wait and see... we have to wait and see the list," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in Germany.

Israel said it would be ready to work with the new cabinet under certain conditions, but stuck to its official stance that it would not recognise the unity government if it did not agree to abide by Western demands.

Israel froze ties with the Palestinian Authority after a shock January election win by Hamas -- which does not recognise the Jewish state's right to exist -- and has been dealing solely with the moderate Abbas.

A senior Israeli official told AFP that if Gaza militants released a soldier captured nearly nine months ago and stop firing rockets into the Jewish state, "Israel will use a pragmatic approach that will allow working with the government."

"Israel will be ready to be more flexible towards the Palestinian government," the official said. "If the Palestinians fail to do so, and the terror attacks do not stop, reality will dictate Israel's actions."

Another senior Israeli official said the Jewish state's official position on the Palestinian coalition will not change until it meets the three conditions and said the new government's political programme was "a move backwards."

Hamas assumed power last March after unexpectedly trouncing long-dominant Fatah, triggering the Western aid freeze that has wreaked havoc on the Palestinian economy.

As Abbas's Fatah and Hamas wrangled for months over forming a coalition with the aim of breaking the boycott, simmering tensions between the rival parties often exploded into street violence that has killed dozens of Palestinians.

In a reminder of the continuing tensions, a Palestinian died on Thursday from wounds sustained during factional clashes in Gaza the night before.

Fatah and Hamas agreed at a summit in Mecca last month to form a unity government to end the power struggle, but stopped short of agreeing to meet Western conditions for resuming aid.

Under the terms of the power-sharing agreement, Hamas will occupy nine cabinet seats plus the premiership and Fatah will take six.

Hamas has nominated another three "independent" ministers and Fatah two.

They decided on independent Hani al-Qawasmeh for the powerful interior ministry, a post they have been squabbling over for weeks.

Fatah and Hamas also agreed to name independent Ziad Abu Amr as foreign minister and to return Salam Fayyad, a former finance minister widely respected in the West, to the post.

posted March 21, 2007 07:14 PM            

This government has refused to acknowledge Israel's right to exist. They also reaffirmed their right to cross Israel's borders to attack civilians and fire rockets from Palestinian areas into Israel's cities.

posted March 24, 2007 12:04 AM              

maybe, we could put them in Outer space, in a school, to learn and grow, hehe

posted March 24, 2007 09:08 PM            

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.if they really want peace with Israel..is snatch every member of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and members of every other terrorist group off the streets and hang them from the tallest flagpoles they can find.

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posted March 24, 2007 09:20 PM            

First of all, I don't remember that every single Palestinian was strapping bombs to themselves and running into Israel.

Secondly, about that gov't. They may well be terrorists but one would have to think about the "why's" of them being in power in the first place. I will acknowledge that Hamas is indeed bad for killing the innocent civilians in Israel, but at the rate of this conflict and way things have been going for them [the Palestinian people] I don't blame them for voting Hamas in power just looking at things from their point of view.

Thirdly, the "business" I was speaking of is their domestic affairs...like their economy. One of the main purposes of the Unity between to the two rival parties may have been to improve ties with the rest of their world again and therefore boost their suffering economy.

posted March 24, 2007 11:19 PM            

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First of all, I don't remember that every single Palestinian was strapping bombs to themselves and running into Israel.

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LOL I know its not really that funny but if every Palestinian did that there would be no Palestinians....or Israelis for that matter...