The new Palestinian government of technocrats may bring an end to sanctions, and hope for the peace process reports Khaled Amayreh As Palestinians were marking the 17th annual anniversary of their "declaration of independence" with renewed determination to pry their freedom from Israel's parsimonious hand, Fatah and Hamas were said to be in a "moment of reconciliation" after months of confrontation and mutual recrimination. The two sides have already agreed to ask the long-time former rector of the Islamic University in Gaza, Professor Mohamed Shabir, to be at the helm of the next Palestinian government, which will be a government of "technocrats" or "experts". On Tuesday, 14 November, Shabir accepted the invitation, signalling that he would immediately begin consultations with Palestinian political factions towards the formation of the new cabinet. The US-educated professor of microbiology was considered a "compromise" candidate because he enjoyed good relations with all Palestinian factions, including Fatah. Shabir has three weeks to form and present his cabinet to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas. However, most Palestinians hope that the task will be carried out sooner rather than later to forestall possible glitches and complications. Most importantly, they wish to prompt Western powers, particularly the European Union, to lift or at least alleviate the crippling sanctions imposed on the government for refusing to recognise Israel. Hamas and Fatah, as well as other smaller factions, are now discussing the division of portfolios, having agreed on the identity of the next prime minister. It is understood that none of the ministers will be an active member of any faction. However, in the Palestinian society where almost everyone is politicised, it is difficult to find many political and even academic figures who are apolitical or not associated with a given ideological orientation. As such, the next government will not be apolitical, although its ideological face (or faces) will not be as conspicuous as that of the current Hamas-dominated government. This particular aspect, many Palestinian intellectuals hope, will help to get the West lift the present boycott and blockade. So far, it has been revealed that Hamas is insisting on retaining control of some of the most important portfolios, such as education, waqf and Islamic affairs, the Interior Ministry and probably the finance portfolio as well. Fatah is likely to take the Foreign Ministry and a number of other service- oriented portfolios. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Palestinian Democratic Initiative headed by Mustafa Barghouti and the Third Way, headed by former minister of finance Salam Fayad, are all expected to take part in the upcoming government. Hamas's foreign-based chief Khaled Mashaal has approved the composition of the government. "We agreed that the division of portfolios among Fatah and Hamas would be nine for Hamas, six for Fatah and nine for ministers with no party affiliation or members of the small organisations," Mashaal told reporters Tuesday. Meanwhile, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas reportedly has given Hamas guarantees that Arab countries and "the international community" will terminate the present siege or blockade on the Palestinians once the new government is functional. It is not clear though if Abbas has been able to obtain such guarantees from the Europeans and Americans, or is just hoping that he will once the government is formed and becomes functional. Representatives of the member-states of the Arab League declared earlier this week that they would no longer take part in the American-led sanctions against the Palestinians. The dramatic decision is believed to be a reaction to the perceivably provocative vetoing by the Bush administration earlier this week of a draft UN Security Council resolution that would have attempted to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip from Israeli attacks, such as last week's massacre in Beit Hanoun which resulted in the death of 20 women and children and innocent civilians. However, it is unclear if the Arab states would or could withstand possible American pressure to keep the sanctions intact until Hamas, or the next Palestinian government, explicitly honour erstwhile Quartet conditions for their lifting, including recognition of Israel, ending armed resistance to the Israeli occupation and accepting outstanding agreements between Israel and the PLO. Hamas officials in Gaza and Damascus have been saying that the next government will not explicitly recognise Israel. Moussa Abu Marzuq, the deputy chairman of Hamas's political bureau, was quoted as saying on Wednesday that "we have not been asked [by the PA and Fatah] to recognise Israel, and therefore we will not recognise it." Fatah officials, while denying publicly that they are asking Hamas to recognise Israel, hope that the Islamic resistance movement will abandon its reluctance to accept Arab League resolutions, such as the decisions of the Arab Summit in Beirut in 2000, which called for the creation of a Palestinian state on all the territories occupied by Israel in 1967. Hamas refuses to give Israel a formal and open-ended recognition mainly for religious reasons and also because it doesn't want to repeat the dismal experience of the PLO which formally recognised Israel more than 17 years ago but received virtually nothing in return, as evidenced from the persistence and consolidation of the Israeli occupation in most parts of the occupied territories. Meanwhile, Abbas was due to meet representatives of the Quartet (UN, US, EU and Russia) in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss new ideas on how to re-launch the stalled peace process. The Quartet has been under attack from many quarters, including some of its own members as well as from Arab diplomats for its "impotence and failure" to produce results on the ground. On Tuesday, a senior Arab League official castigated the Quartet, saying it failed to challenge Israeli insolence, intransigence and unilateralism. "Regrettably, it has failed to play any role and was prevented from advancing the peace process," said Bin Hellis the League's undersecretary-general, in an apparent allusion to the United States. He added that the Quartet's failure to stand up to Israeli attempts to abort all peace initiatives was the main cause of its failure. Earlier, Russian and some European diplomats also voiced their disenchantment and displeasure with the way the Quartet was functioning, pointing out that fresher and more creative ideas were needed to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East.
