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.
‘CROSSING THE LINE’: China’s embassy in Seoul criticized US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson, asking if his ‘hostile’ remarks were authorized by Washington South Korea and the US are in talks over recent public remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea, Seoul’s presidential office said yesterday, after the comments drew sharp criticism from China. In a recent podcast interview, US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson described South Korea as “the dagger in the heart of Asia” from China’s east coast, prompting the Chinese embassy in Seoul to say that he had “truly crossed the line.” The interview came amid growing speculation that Washington might seek to expand the role of US Forces Korea in countering the growing regional influence of China, a key
Through the noise of rushing papers and whirring belts at a print factory in Kyoto, two creators watch their photo essay come to life in broadsheet form — part of an effort to win new audiences in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite the decline of the publishing industry, self-publication and handmade “zine” magazines are growing in popularity in Japan, reflecting the nation’s enduring love of paper in the digital era. While speaking to Agence France-Presse at the plant, his hands black with ink, one of the creators, Kazuma Obara, said: “I think [paper] is a medium that engages all five
Australian researchers have trained lab-grown brain cells on a silicon computer chip to play the 1990s shooter game Doom and said they are just scratching the surface of what the neurons could be capable of doing. It is the science-fiction work of biotech boffins at Cortical Labs, who researched and developed the technology that harnesses the workings of the brain’s networking system. Each so-called “biological computer” contains about 200,000 living human brain cells, grown from stem cells that were harvested from blood donations. Having mastered the simple computer game Pong, where a paddle is moved up and down to send a ball
France experienced its hottest spring on record, the French weather service said on Tuesday, after an exceptional early heat wave that also broke highs for the season in England and Wales. Meteo-France said the average nationwide temperature over March to May was 13.8°C — about 1.7°C above the norm, and surpassing records set in 2011 and 2020. “The warmest spring since records began in 1900,” it said in a bulletin. All three months were warmer than average, but the onset of an “unprecedented heatwave” late last month pushed the mercury to highs typically seen at the height of the summer. “Our country had never
RSS