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The Palestinian Unity Government

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Palestine Center Information Brief No. 149 (14 March 2007)

By Zeina Ashrawi

Overview: After months of failed negotiations and increasing instability in Palestinian civil society, the two leading Palestinian parties, Hamas and Fateh, have reached an agreement on an unprecedented unity government. The driving force behind such a move is to circumvent a civil war, improve the functionality of the Palestinian Authority (PA) institutions and to end the international isolation of and the economic boycott on the PA. However, there are many skeptics as to whether the new government will indeed be able to achieve these goals amidst an ongoing occupation and international scrutiny and pressure. Nonetheless, it is a first step and an attempt at creating the building blocks for a democratic, viable government that works for and represents the Palestinian people.

The government will be announced on Thursday, 15 March 2007 at 11 a.m. Palestine time. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh is to present the government to the Palestinian Legislative Council for a vote on Saturday, 17 March. It is expected that the Ministers be sworn in on Sunday, 18 March with the hope that the government officially begin its term on Monday. Arab League Secretary General, Amer Moussa, has been invited to attend the swearing in ceremony. The formulation of the government was made possible after both sides agreed on who will run the powerful ministry of interior.

As of 11 P.M. Palestine time 14 March 2007, the Palestine Center has obtained the following list.

The Cabinet

Twenty four ministers make up the new unity Palestinian government. Based on the 8 February 2006 Mecca agreement, the division of the cabinet is as follows:

Hamas holds nine posts; Fateh was allocated six posts; There are five posts for independents (three are Hamas appointed and two are Fateh appointed); and there are four parliamentary block appointees, which include the Third Way, Independent Palestine and Badeel.

Hamas Appointees:

1) Ismail Haniyeh: Prime Minister
2) Nasr Al Deen Al Shaer: Minister of Education & Higher Education
3) Ziad Al ZaZa: Contender for Minister of Agriculture
4) Mahmoud Al Barghouti: Local Government
5) Bassam Naim: Minister of Youth & Sports
6) Allam El Dean Abu 'Asi:
7) Ala' Rafati:

Fateh Appointees:

1) Radwan Al Akhras : Minister of Health
2) Khloud Ittayyeb : Minister of State
3) Taysir Abu Sneneh: Minister Prisoners Affairs
4) Mahmoud Aloul: Minister Labor
5) Sa'di Al Krunz: Minister of Transportation
6) Azzam Al Ahmed : Contender for Deputy Prime Minister

Other Parties:

1) Salam Fayyad: Minister of Finance Third Way
2) Saleh Zeidan: Minister of Tourism & Antiquities Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).
3) Bassam Salhi: Minister of Culture People's Party (PPP)
4) Mustafa Barghouti: Minister of Information Al Mubadara

Key Posts

Ministry	Appointee	Political affiliation	Biography
*Prime Minister*	Ismail Haniyeh	Hamas	Became Prime Minister of the first Hamas led Palestinian governmnet on 29 March 2006. He resigned on 15 February 2007 as part of the Mecca deal. He served as caretaker prime minister until the formation of the current governmnet.
*Finance*	Salam Fayyad	Third Way	Cofounder and leader of the newly established Third Way party, which ran in the 2006 election. Served as the Finance Minister under Fateh-led governmnet. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
*Foreign Affairs*	Ziad Abu Amer	Independent (Hamas Supported)	Was twice elected to the Legislative Council representing Gaza and is former PA Minister of Culture. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Politics from Georgetown University.
*Interior*	Hani Al Qawasmi	Independent	He worked in the Civil Affairs ministry under Jamil Al Tareefi, a Fateh minister and has been at the interior ministry since 2003 after the civil affairs ministry was incorporated into the interior ministry. Qawasmi's father was the deputy president of the Palestine National Council (PNC) the Palestinian Parliament in exile. He is not politically affiliated with any particular party, yet he enjoys the respect of Hamas and Fateh.
*Information*	Mustafa Barghouti	Al Mubadara	Is the Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative (al-Mubadara al-Wataniyya al-Filistiniyya). He was a candidate for the presidency of the Palestinian National Authority in 2005. He is also the founder and director of the Health, Development, Information and Policy Institute (HDIP), in Ramallah.
*Culture*	Bassam Salhi	People's Party	Member of the Palestinian People's Party. He was the party's candidate for President of the PA in 2005. He is one of two deputies elected from The Alternative slate to the Palestinian Legislative election in 2006. He holds a Master's degree in International Studies from Birzeit University.

Expert Analysis

The Mecca agreement served to end the bloodshed and internal fighting between Fateh and Hamas. It also provided for a basic mechanism of governance in the form of power sharing through a national unity government. Hamas spokesperson Fawzy Barhoum pointed out that the unity government was established after a very difficult period both in Palestinian politics as well as Israel's policies of assassinations, siege and war. 'This government is a free and unified government that uses the framework of the National Accord/Conciliation Document [also referred to as the Prisoners Document] as well as resistance and steadfastness against the occupation. This government is representative of various factions, which gives it both international and domestic legitimacy,' Barhoum explained.

However others are skeptical. Pointing out the difficulties ahead, Nabil Amer, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' media advisor, stressed that 'the success of this unity government is not guaranteed but it is rather a means to stabilize the situation and ending the siege. This new government will experience many difficulties in accomplishing its goals successfully, but it must be given a chance.'

Although the long-term or strategic success is in doubt, experts agree that there are short-term benefits for a unity government. 'It depends how we measure success,' said political analyst Ghassan Khatib. 'It will succeed in the short term yet it will not succeed in improving the domestic situation, especially in Gaza, and it will not be able to provide the security that the Palestinian people need. However, it may provide a platform for a future peace process with Israel.'

On one hand, all point out the difficulties in terms of internal rectification, institution building and economic revitalization as well as ensuring the rule of law. On the other hand they recognize the need to lift the external economic siege and to restore the international standing of the Palestinian cause as well as providing security.

Barhoum notes that given the difficulties that this government faces, security will be a priority and those appointed to the various posts will be selected 'based on their capability to provide security...' That said, Barhoum argued that all the ministries and civil institutions will work for the people as best as possible amidst an occupation and ongoing siege. Barhoum pointed out that the Europeans have given financial support as do the Arab and Muslim countries yet the economic siege that is imposed on the Palestinians by Israel has to end and the money needs to go back into the Palestinian economy.

'I do not think it will succeed on this front,' contends Khatib. 'The cabinet nominees are chosen not on their professional qualifications but rather on their political influence.' He believes that this government will fail in providing security for the Palestinians especially in Gaza and will not be able to halt Israel's actions against the Palestinians in general. 'Non-governmental players have more power than this government due to the lack of credibility and trust that the people have towards this government,' Khatib said. As for the economic siege, he emphasized that Israel must end its economic siege in order for the Palestinian economy to start working again.

When asked about the security and economic improvement capacity of this government, Amer argued that 'no one knows the true capability of this government in controlling the economic and security situation in the Palestinian territories.' He explained that the government will be monitored. 'We hope that the situation improves, however there are many difficulties facing this new government and it will be hard to overcome everything and accomplish all its goals,' Amer said.

The unity government has a lot to prove and there are many hurdles that may and will inhibit its agenda. Despite this, there is a consensus among Palestinians on the necessity for change. This phase is an experiment that will test, on the one hand, the international community's intentions to give the Palestinians the legitimacy that is required to end the economic siege and to end the Israeli occupation; and on the other hand, to provide the Palestinian people with a relative sense of political stability, security and financial sustainability.

Zeina Ashrawi is Program Assistant of The Jerusalem Fund. This information brief may be used without permission but with proper attribution to the Center. The above text does not necessarily reflect the views of The Jerusalem Fund.

The Palestinian Unity Government

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