The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
rejected on Wednesday the line-up of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)-led
cabinet that was presented to President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday.
Well-informed Palestinian sources said that the PLO executive committee made
the decision after it held a meeting in Ramallah on whether to verify the
Hamas-led cabinet or reject it.
Hamas Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haneya on Sunday presented his
cabinet's political platform and the list of the ministers to Abbas who said the
line-up would be presented to the PLO executive committee within 48 hours.
According to the sources, the PLO rejects the Hamas cabinet's political
platform because it contradicts with the platform of the PLO, which is based on
the Declaration of Independence made in Algeria in November 1988 calling for a
peace solution to the Palestine issue and an implementation of UN Security
Council's concerned resolutions.
Hamas has also rejected to include in its cabinet platform a clear text about
the PLO mentioning that the PLO is the Palestinians' sole and legitimate
representative, which has made all other Palestinian parties and factions in the
parliament rejected to join the Hamas-led cabinet.
Hamas, which secured 74 seats in the 132-member PLC (parliament), decided to
form a 24-member cabinet after its efforts to bring forward a national unity
government failed four weeks after Haneya was designated by President Abbas to
form the next cabinet on Feb.21.