- Ending years of political and territorial unrest, the two main parties of Palestine – Hamas and Fatah – have come together to form a unity government that will unite West Bank and Gaza and provide a breakthrough for the long-delayed Presidential elections.
- The govt will be headed by Mr. Hamdallah, the current PM of West Bank, and consist of 17 ministers, 5 of which are from Gaza.
- The Hamas head Mr. Abbas has pledged abidance of the Middle East peace quartet as per which it will recognise Israel, reject violence and abide by all existing agreements.
- The historic signing in is likely to damage relations with Israel and various other international aid agencies as many consider Hamas to be a terror outfit.
- Israel, which had earlier suspended peace negotiations when the reconciliation deal was signed, has now threatened with punitive sanctions against any Hamas backed govt.
- Israel also insisted that the deal reasserting Palestinian Authority’s governance over Gaza places an obligation on Hamas to demilitarize the coastal strip as part of the Oslo peace agreement.
- The US is going to watch for the policies of the new govt and will then decide whether or not to recognize the new govt.
- Read at:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/palestinian-unity-government-sworn-in/article6076661.ece
Exams Perspective:
- Israel Palestine Bilateral Relations
- Unity Govt In Palestine