Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya has officially
presented his resignation before President Mahmoud Abbas in a
meeting held on Thursday night in Gaza City.
Following the resignation, Abbas hands Haneya another letter
designated him to form the new national unity government according
to the agreement they reached last week in Saudi Arabia's holy city
of Mecca.
Haneya arrived early on Thursday night at the headquarters of
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza City, and an official
meeting between the two men had started.
The meeting decided to start immediately the constitutional
procedures of forming a national unity government. Haneya is
expected to official present his resignation to Abbas, where Abbas
would official designate him to form the new national unity
government.
Meanwhile, leaders of rival Fatah and Islamic Resistance
Movement, or Hamas, said they agreed on Thursday evening on the
immediate starting of constitutional measures on forming the
national unity government.
Spokesman of Fatah movement, Abdul Hakim Awad told reporters
following a two-hour meeting between the two movements' leaders in
Gaza "We agreed to start immediately the constitutional measures to
form the new government."
"The agreement was reached following intensive talks to overcome
the crisis, which emerged on Wednesday," said Awad, adding that
President Mahmoud Abbas and Premier Ismail Haneya will meet at 6:30
PM (16:30 GMT) Jerusalem time.
According to the agreement, Haneya should officially present his
resignation as well as his cabinet, then he would receive an
official letter from Abbas, designating him as the Prime Minister
of the national unity government.
Haneya needs according to the Palestinian law, two weeks to form
the government. Spokesman of the Hamas-led Ghazi Hamad had expected
on Wednesday that forming the new government would take 10
days.
(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2007)
