NEW YORK (Ma’an) – President Mahmoud Abbas says he does not plan to form a new cabinet on his return from New York, where he will submit an application for full UN membership.
Asked by Ma'an if he would form a new government on his return to Ramallah, the president said he would only consider doing so when the situation was "more stable."
The Palestinian Authority cabinet resigned in February, but Abbas swiftly reappointed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and tasked him with reforming the Ramallah cabinet.
Despite several announcements that the new cabinet was imminent, it has not yet been formed. Since February, the resigned cabinet has been acting in a caretaker capacity.
It was the third time Abbas had designated Fayyad to form a new Palestinian Authority government since June 2007, when Hamas split from the government and took power in Gaza.
No elections have been held since 2006, and the mandate of the president, legislative council, municipal leaders and cabinet have ended.
Analysts, and Hamas, said that disbanding the cabinet in February was a tactical move in response to concerns raised about the government's legitimacy as a wave of popular protests swept the region calling for the ouster of unrepresentative leaders.
At the time, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum slammed the cabinet shuffle as "a superficial change with no hint of reform," while Hamas legislator Yahya Al-Abadisa said that it was "an attempt to stave off revolution."
The cabinet reshuffle came weeks after the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera released over 1,600 confidential PLO papers, dubbed the "Palestine Papers," showing wide gaps between Palestinian negotiators' public statements and concessions offered in closed-door meetings.
In the days prior to February's cabinet resignation, Abbas promised there would be elections by September, although he later conditioned the vote on Hamas' participation.
In May, Abbas' Fatah party signed a surprise unity deal with Hamas, and the parties agreed in Cairo to form an interim government of technocrats to prepare for elections.
Implementation of the deal stalled when Hamas rejected Fatah's nomination of PA premier Salam Fayyad to head the interim government.
Asked by Ma'an if he would form a new government on his return to Ramallah, the president said he would only consider doing so when the situation was "more stable."
The Palestinian Authority cabinet resigned in February, but Abbas swiftly reappointed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and tasked him with reforming the Ramallah cabinet.
Despite several announcements that the new cabinet was imminent, it has not yet been formed. Since February, the resigned cabinet has been acting in a caretaker capacity.
It was the third time Abbas had designated Fayyad to form a new Palestinian Authority government since June 2007, when Hamas split from the government and took power in Gaza.
No elections have been held since 2006, and the mandate of the president, legislative council, municipal leaders and cabinet have ended.
Analysts, and Hamas, said that disbanding the cabinet in February was a tactical move in response to concerns raised about the government's legitimacy as a wave of popular protests swept the region calling for the ouster of unrepresentative leaders.
At the time, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum slammed the cabinet shuffle as "a superficial change with no hint of reform," while Hamas legislator Yahya Al-Abadisa said that it was "an attempt to stave off revolution."
The cabinet reshuffle came weeks after the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera released over 1,600 confidential PLO papers, dubbed the "Palestine Papers," showing wide gaps between Palestinian negotiators' public statements and concessions offered in closed-door meetings.
In the days prior to February's cabinet resignation, Abbas promised there would be elections by September, although he later conditioned the vote on Hamas' participation.
In May, Abbas' Fatah party signed a surprise unity deal with Hamas, and the parties agreed in Cairo to form an interim government of technocrats to prepare for elections.
Implementation of the deal stalled when Hamas rejected Fatah's nomination of PA premier Salam Fayyad to head the interim government.
Maan News Agency:
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