A Palestinian unity government is expected to be announced in around one week, with leaders assuring the Palestinian public that it will not bow to Israel, writes Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah Officials involved in efforts to form a new national unity government, which would culminate the reconciliation process between Fatah and Hamas, have assured Palestinians that the new government won't be "in anyone's pocket" and that it won't be subject to "Israeli whims and dictates". Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, continue to make, nearly on a daily basis, convulsive remarks, threatening to scuttle and strangle any new Palestinian government in which Hamas has a voice. Israel believes the inclusion of Hamas into the Palestinian leadership could "radicalise" the overall Palestinian stance vis-a-vis peace talks with Israel, especially with regard to such central issues as Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. Israel is worried that with Hamas in the Palestinian leadership seat, the Palestinians would be more insistent on a total Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank as well as the repatriation of millions of refugees to their homes in what is now Israel. Hamas and Fatah officials said the task of forming the new government was "more than half the way through", adding that differences over the remaining issues were procedural, not political. "I am quite optimistic that a new government will see the light of the day within a week or so," said Ahmed Youssef, a former advisor to Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Gaza-based Hamas-run government. Youssef denied as unsubstantiated reports that a rift between Hamas's Damascus-based leadership, headed by Khaled Meshaal and the prominent Gazan leader Mahmoud Al-Zahhar was having a detrimental impact on the formation of the government. He described as "rumours" such reports, accusing "unsympathetic and hostile media" of tending to blow things out of proportion. Some reliable sources indicated that while the bulk of Hamas leaders in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip were opposed to the reappointment of Salam Fayyad as prime minister of the new government, the head of the movement's politburo in Damascus, Meshaal, could support Fayyad. "Brother Meshaal is not really infatuated with Fayyad. However, he believes that he is the most suitable candidate for the premiership at this juncture," said one Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Legislative Council member. Many Palestinians hope that the formation of the unity government will signal the end of all outstanding contentious issues between Fatah and Hamas. However, given the complexity of the issues, threshing out some of them needs more time. For example, differences over the emotive issue of political detainees and the functions of security agencies, especially in the West Bank, continue to elude joint committees entrusted with the task of implementing the Egyptian-brokered reconciliation agreement. Last week, the families and relatives of some Hamas detainees in the northern West Bank held a protest outside some detention centres, demanding the immediate release of their loved ones. Similarly, Hamas has demanded that all Islamist-run community centres, youth and sporting facilities, and educational institutions seized by Fatah after the ouster of Fatah from the Gaza Strip in 2007 must be returned to their rightful owners sooner rather than later. Fatah leader Nabil Shaath, who visited Gaza over the weekend, assured the Hamas leadership that "everything will be done to the satisfaction of all sides in due course" and that "soon there will come a time when there will not be a single political detainee in the West Bank." However, it seems that the Palestinian Authority (PA) government, while insisting that the agreement with Hamas must be maintained whatever the price, is also keeping an eye on Israeli and American reactions. "The PA wants the agreement with Hamas to succeed; however, this doesn't mean that the PA is eager to provoke the Israelis. This might mean that the PA wants to do things in a low-key manner, especially in the security arena," a PA security official said, preferring to remain anonymous. Meanwhile, Egypt and the Arab League are pressing the Palestinians to speed up the formation of a unity government, which many Palestinian leaders and public figures want to call a "national salvation government". Arab League sources in Cairo were quoted as saying that a high-ranking League delegation, probably headed by secretary-general Amr Moussa, will visit Gaza as soon as the new Palestinian government is formed. The sources said the purpose of the visit would be to show solidarity with the people of Gaza, show support for the new government, and break the four-year Israeli siege on the coastal enclave. In addition to Moussa, the Arab delegation would include Qatari Foreign Minister Hamed Bin Jassem and other high- ranking Arab officials. The new Palestinian government, expected to be formally announced in seven to 10 days, will be "the government of his Excellency, the President Mahmoud Abbas." "This is going to be my government, it is not going to be Fatah's government or Hamas's government," said PA President Mahmoud Abbas. It is hoped that such remarks and other assurances from the Palestinian leadership will assuage Western objections and reservations. Palestinian officials in Ramallah said they were generally optimistic about European and Russian reactions to the formation of the new government, adding that their main concern was over likely congressional pressure on the Obama administration to suspend or freeze financial aid to the PA. As to Israel, and given the make-up of the current government headed by Netanyahu, often described as the most hawkish in Israel's history, it is nearly certain that it will seek to strangle the new Palestinian government, or at least narrow its horizons to the point of paralysis. The Israeli government could re- impose severe financial sanctions on the Palestinians (eg, stopping monthly payments of tax revenues, which Israel collects on the Palestinians' behalf, pursuant an economic protocol dating back to the mid 1990s). Israel could also resort to detaining and abducting government officials, especially those perceived to be close to the Islamist camp. Israel, notorious in its gangster-like behaviour, has arrested and imprisoned most elected Palestinian officials, especially those associated with Hamas's political wing, including lawmakers, on frivolous, even abstract charges, like refusal to recognise the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation.
