Reports: Palestinian government to resign
June 17, 2015
Reports have emerged that the Palestinian unity government formed last year will soon be dissolved, possibly as early as Wednesday.
The Associated Press news agency reports that during a meeting of Fatah's Revolutionary Council late Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the government would dissolve "because Hamas didn't let it work in Gaza."
The unity government was formed in 2014 between the two rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, following a seven-year rift after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip. Comprised of independent technocrats, in theory the unity authority had a mandate to govern both the West Bank and Gaza but in practice it has failed to take hold in Gaza, where Hamas remains the de facto power.
The inability of the government to exert its authority in Gaza has been a major point of contention between the factions and is also one of the reasons behind the slow pace of rebuild efforts in the Gaza Strip following last summer's war between Israel and Hamas.
News agency AFP reported that government officials did not confirm a resignation was planned, but reported that several sources had said such a move had been under discussion for several weeks.
se/bw (AFP, AP)