The Hamas-led Palestinian government is looking for help from its main rival, Fatah, in the face of a financial crisis, international isolation and internal unrest, calling for a "national unity" coalition as a way out of the crisis.
Hamas renewed its appeal on Sunday, but there was no sign that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah, thrown out in January elections after four decades in control of Palestinian politics, would accept.
Fatah officials even failed to show up for a meeting of factions called by Hamas on Sunday.
"We affirmed that the issue of forming a national unity government is under consideration," Ghazi Hamad, the government spokesperson told reporters. "The door is open to Fatah."
Fatah, however, has already rejected joining a unity government and is enjoying the difficulties Hamas faces in running the government while trying to avoid compromising its hardline positions.
The situation has become critical. Sanctions by Israel and the West have dried up the Palestinian treasury, and salaries for 140,000 public sector workers are more than two weeks overdue, triggering demonstrations.
Bitterness has heightened in recent days since Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas accused Abbas of trying to undermine the new government.
Abbas aides called Haniyeh's comments unacceptable.
Meanwhile Iran has offered to donate more than US$50 million to the Palestinian Authority to help it with its budget crisis. It is the first solid promise of financial aid for the new Hamas government.
Russia has also offered to provide aid, although it has not stipulated what it is offering and how it will be paid.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that he was honored to help the Palestinian nation and called on other Muslim nations to follow suit.
Iran's donation, announced after an anti-Zionism conference in Tehran, is less than half of the US$132 million the Palestinian Authority requires to pay its workers for a month.
The US, EU and Canada withdrew their donations because Hamas refused to recognize Israel and renounce violence. Israel also did not transfer US$55 million it owes the Palestinian Authority in customs duties.
Iran's offer of help does not mean the crisis is over. Tehran has to transfer the money to the Palestinian Authority, which has had trouble getting banking facilities since Hamas took over.
Also the Palestinian Authority needs US$55 million every month, and by the end of this month it will have another wage bill.
A unity coalition would be designed to put differences aside and give legitimacy to the Hamas-led government as a way of persuading the West to resume vital foreign aid. But many in Fatah are hoping Hamas will fail and be forced to call new elections.
ROCKY RELATIONS: The figures on residents come as Chinese tourist numbers drop following Beijing’s warnings to avoid traveling to Japan The number of Chinese residents in Japan has continued to rise, even as ties between the two countries have become increasingly fractious, data released on Friday showed. As of the end of December last year, the number of Chinese residents had increased by 6.5 percent from the previous year to 930,428. Chinese people accounted for 22.6 percent of all foreign residents in Japan, making them by far the largest group, Japanese Ministry of Justice data showed. Beijing has criticized Tokyo in increasingly strident terms since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last year suggested that a military conflict around Taiwan could
Japan is to downgrade its description of ties with China from “one of its most important” in an annual diplomatic report, according to a draft reviewed by Reuters, as relations with Beijing worsen. This year’s Diplomatic Bluebook, which Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government is expected to approve next month, would instead describe China as an important neighbor and the relationship as “strategic” and “mutually beneficial.” The draft cites a series of confrontations with Beijing over the past year, including export controls on rare earths, radar lock-ons targeting Japanese military aircraft and increased pressure around Taiwan. The shift in tone underscores a deterioration
A retired US colonel behind a privately financed rocket launch site in the Dominican Republic sees the project as a response to China’s dominance of the space race in Latin America. Florida-based Launch on Demand is slated to begin building a US$600 million facility in a remote region near the border with Haiti late this year. The project is designed to meet surging demand for the heavy-lift rockets needed to put clusters of satellites into orbit. It is also an answer to China’s growing presence in the region, said CEO Burton Catledge, a former commander of the US Air Force’s 45th Operations
Germany is considering Australia’s Ghost Bat robot fighter as it looks to select a combat drone to modernize its air force, German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said yesterday. Germany has said it wants to field hundreds of uncrewed fighter jets by 2029, and would make a decision soon as it considers a range of German, European and US projects developing so-called “collaborative combat aircraft.” Australia has said it will integrate the Ghost Bat, jointly developed by Boeing Australia and the Royal Australian Air Force, into its military after a successful weapons test last year. After inspecting the Ghost Bat in Queensland yesterday,
RSS