Don’t rush to recognise new Palestinian cabinet: Israel

Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem yesterday.

AFP/Jerusalem

World governments should not rush to approve the new Palestinian cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned yesterday after the Palestinians accused Israel of punishing them over a unity deal. 

“I call on all responsible elements within the international community not to hurry to recognise the Palestinian government that Hamas is part of, and which relies on Hamas,” the Israeli premier told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting, saying it would “strengthen terror”.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said the new government, which is to be sworn in today in Ramallah, will be a government of political independents that will reject violence, recognise Israel and abide by all existing agreements. 

Although the formal line-up has not yet been made public, it has been pieced together by Abbas’ Fatah movement and Gaza’s Islamist Hamas rulers in accordance with a reconciliation agreement inked in April. Technocratic in nature, it will not have a political mandate.

Israel has described the unity deal with Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, as a blow to peace and vowed to boycott it.

In a move which further underscored Israel’s opposition to the new government, three Gazans who were to travel to the West Bank to be sworn in as ministers were blocked from leaving the coastal enclave, officials said.

Azzam al-Ahmed, Fatah’s representative on reconciliation matters, said the swearing in ceremony will take place at Abbas’ Muqataa presidential compound at 1pm today. 

But in a sign of persistent tensions, Hamas has refused to confirm the date, citing an ongoing row over the fate of the prisoners’ ministry with reports suggesting it would be transferred to the responsibility of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). 

Speaking late on Saturday, Abbas said Israel had informed him it would cut all ties with the incoming government to punish the Palestinians for resolving their years-long internal differences.

“Israel wants to punish us for agreeing with Hamas on this government,” he said, adding that the Netanyahu administration would “boycott the government the moment it is announced”.

But the Palestinians would have an answer for every Israeli move, warned Abbas.

“Each Israeli step will have a proper Palestinian response,” he said, without elaborating. “We will take everything step-by-step, we will not be the ones to react first.”

He appeared to be alluding to Palestinian intentions to seek further recognition for their promised state in the international diplomatic arena.

Despite Israel’s boycott threat, severing ties was unlikely to affect security co-ordination with the forces of Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, Yediot Aharonot newspaper said.

“The assessment is that... security co-ordination between the two sides will not be harmed,” it said, although Israel would hold Abbas “responsible” for any rocket fire emanating from Gaza. 

Israel’s deputy defence minister Danny Danon, a far-right member of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, called on the US government to halt funding to the Palestinian Authority. 

“Abbas has chosen the terrorists of Hamas over negotiating with Israel and we expect our friends to act accordingly,” he said, describing it as “unthinkable” that almost half a billion dollars in US aid to the PA should “go straight into the hands of Hamas”.

Earlier, a senior Palestinian official said Israel prevented three Gazans from crossing to the West Bank to be sworn in as ministers in the new government.

“We sent the application in on Thursday and explained that these officials are to be sworn in as ministers in Ramallah, but Israel immediately rejected the application,” he said.

Israeli public radio said COGAT, the defence ministry unit responsible for Palestinian civilian co-ordination, vetoed the request. Contacted by AFP, a spokesman refused to comment, as did Netanyahu’s office.

The new government, which will pave the way for long-overdue elections, will be chaired by Rami Hamdallah, who is currently serving as prime minister in the Fatah-dominated West Bank administration.

NGOs appeal to EU over prisoners on hunger strike

AFP/Ramallah

Palestinian and Israeli rights groups yesterday wrote to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton demanding her “urgent intervention” on behalf of 125 prisoners on long-term hunger strike.

The letter was sent as the overall number of Palestinian prisoners refusing food climbed to 290, including 70 being treated in hospital, an Israel Prisons Service spokeswoman said. 

Of that number, 125 have been on hunger strike for more than five weeks, beginning their mass protest on or shortly after April 24, Palestinian rights groups say. 

Most of the prisoners are administrative detainees who are refusing to eat in protest over their being held without trial in a procedure which can be extended indefinitely.

“We... wish to bring to your attention the ongoing mass hunger strike involving approximately 125 Palestinian detainees and prisoners, and request your urgent intervention on their behalf,” said the letter, signed by 17 rights groups and the Palestinian prisoners’ affairs ministry. 

“As of June 1, the majority of the hunger strikers have gone without food for 38 days.

“We have reached a critical stage and unless there is immediate intervention there will be dire consequences for the health of all those on strike,” it said.

Among those refusing food are six parliamentarians from the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), all of whom are administrative detainees, the letter said. Palestinian officials said they had only recently joined the strike. 

Many had stopped taking vitamins and were only drinking water, it said, accusing Israel of withholding salt from them for the first fortnight of their strike. 

The IPS denied the allegation, with spokeswoman Sivan Weizman saying the detainees had been given “everything as required by law”. 

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior figure with the Palestine Liberation Organisation, accused Israel of “systematically” using administrative detention as a tool for the collective punishment of Palestinians. 

“We call on all states... to pressure Israel to drop its cruel and illegal use of the colonial practice of administrative detention and other administrative punitive measures,” she said in a statement. 

Two years ago, more than 1,500 prisoners staged a four-week hunger strike which ended with a deal in which Israel agreed not to extend the prison terms of those in administrative detention unless fresh evidence against them emerged. 

Israel also agreed to return those in solitary detention back to the general prison population as well as allowing a resumption of family visits for detainees who come from Gaza.