Ramallah, Gaza Mere Caretaker Govts: Plo

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said Thursday that the Palestinian governments in Gaza and Ramallah had become mere caretaker governments – thanks to Wednesday's reconciliation deal between rival factions Hamas and Fatah.



The PLO added that all factions had agreed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas should serve as president of a Palestinian national unity government.



Zakaria al-Agha, a member of Fatah's central committee, said reconciliation between Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and Fatah, which rules the occupied West Bank, would allow Abbas to begin consultations on the formation of a new government.



"This means that the governments in Gaza and the West Bank are now mere caretaker governments until the new government is announced," al-Agha said on the sidelines of a meeting with Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza.



On Wednesday, Hamas and Fatah signed an agreement aimed at ending years of division between the two factions. The deal, welcomed by most Arab states, calls for the formation of a national unity government to pave the way for presidential and parliamentary polls.



In Tel Aviv, however, news of the agreement received a cold reception.



Commenting on the deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Abbas, who heads Fatah, had to choose between reconciliation with Hamas – which Israel calls a "terrorist organization" – and peace with the self-proclaimed Jewish state.



Netanyahu went on to assert that Hamas's only objective was the destruction of Israel.



Relations between Fatah and Hamas have remained tense since the latter seized control of the Gaza Strip following deadly clashes with pro-Fatah forces in 2007 – one year after Hamas defeated Fatah in Palestinian legislative polls.



Al-Agha said the new national unity government would not only include ministers from Hamas and Fatah, but would reflect the entire Palestinian people.



Leading Fatah member Faisal Abu Shahla told Anadolu Agency that the new government would be drawn up within five weeks.



He added that the Palestinians would not reverse course on reconciliation, even if the U.S. and Israel put pressure on them to do so.



"Israel told us before to choose between reconciliation with Hamas or peace with it," Abu Shahla said. "We opted for the Palestinian cause – and reconciliation with Hamas."



By Nour Abu Aisha



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