Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah officially placed on Tuesday the resignation of his government at the disposal of President Mahmoud Abbas, according to the Palestinian cabinet statement.
The PM and members of the government expressed their “confidence in the success of efforts to form a new government that will shoulder the concerns of our people and continues the path of restoring national unity, ending the division and moving ahead on the road to freedom and independence.”
During a meeting the President, the Central Committee recommended forming a new government composed of the factions of PLO to replace the current national reconciliation government.
Deputy chairman of Fatah, Mahmoud al-Aloul, said the movement has formed a special committee to negotiate with various Palestinian groups about the formation of a new government, asserting that the “current stage requires change.”
The deputy chairman indicated that the President issued an order to redefine relations with Israel and amend the Paris agreement. He asserted that the officials are now devoted to the major issues: facing the US and Israeli occupation as well as reaching stability among Palestinian factions.
Aloul explained that the elections will include West Bank and Gaza Strip including Jerusalem, asserting that elections will occur in Jerusalem because anything otherwise will be admittance to President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Fatah's decision to end the current government came in the context of preparations for holding parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories after the dissolution of the Legislative Council, which had been stalled for nearly 11 years.
Abbas announced last month the dissolution of the Legislative Council after a decision of the Palestinian Constitutional Court, which also included holding parliamentary elections within six months.
The Council has been stalled since 2007 after Hamas movement seized control of the Gaza Strip.
Through these successive steps, Fatah is strengthening the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA), during a critical stage that includes the preparation for a smooth transition in the Authority.
Fatah media official Monir al-Jaghoub indicated that since the beginning, the movement never took the easy road and has not taken the safe option as an alternative to leading the people.
Speaking on the behalf of PLO and independent factions, Jaghoub called for the formation of a government in face of the “deal century”, which further empowers the Israeli occupation and settlement.
The official asserted Fatah’s goal to end the occupation, establish the Right of Return and form an independent sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Hamas has rejected all Fatah measures, including dissolving the Legislative Council, forming a new Palestinian government, and calling for general rather than parliamentary elections. It said any government formed by Fatah without a consensus “would have no legitimacy.”
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri also attacked the plan to form a new government saying any “government apart from a national consensus one is a continuation of the unilateral actions taken by Fatah.”
Hamas had been excluded from consultations to form a government.
Fatah’s Central Committee Sec-Gen Mahed al-Fataini indicated that the new government will be formed of PLO factions only, asserting that it will not include Hamas of Islamic Jihad.
He said, "the intransigence of Hamas and its refusal to deal with the government of national reconciliation" prompted the Palestinian leadership to think about forming a new government.
