In the latest indication that Palestinian unity is nowhere in the offing, a senior Hamas spokesman said on Tuesday that the Gaza-based faction will have nothing to do with new ministers seated in the unity cabinet last week by Prime Minister Dr. Rami Hamdallah. In a website posting, Moussa Abu Marzook wrote that there was no national consensus to seat new ministers and called Hamdallah a “failure.” It had been expected that members of the factions would replace the technocrats presently in the cabinet by this time. The term in office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas technically ended in 2009, causing Hamas members to deny the legitimacy of his tenure. But Fatah and Hamas have been unable to solve enough of their differences to allow new elections to be held. Marzook said a long-term truce with Israel would be “acceptable,” but Fatah fears that would only allow Israel to avoid issues such as borders that it needs solved sooner.
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