The Palestinian Unity Government of June 2014 was a national unity government of the Palestinian National Authority under Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formed on 2 June 2014 following the Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation Agreement that had been signed on 23 April 2014. The ministers were nominally independent, but overwhelmingly seen as loyal to President Abbas and his Fatah movement or to smaller leftist factions, none of whom were believed to have close ties to Hamas. However, the Unity Government was not approved by the Legislative Council, leading to its legitimacy being questioned. The Unity Government dissolved on 17 June 2015 after President Abbas said it was unable to operate in the Gaza Strip.
Before the agreement, there were two separate governments, one ruled by Fatah in the West Bank and the other by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Although this unity government formally was a government representing both Fatah and Hamas, the two parties remained hostile to each other as numerous reconciliation attempts have failed so far.
The international community agreed to work with the new government. While the US reaction was reserved, Israel condemned the unity government, stressing that Hamas is a terrorist organisation which has vowed to destroy the state of Israel.
In July and December 2015, Abbas reshuffled the cabinet and appointed new ministers without consulting Hamas, which was denounced by Hamas. Although Hamas did not recognize the new ministers and rejected the changes, the reshuffling was called "technical and not political", and the new cabinet was presented as a slightly changed existing government, still called "consensus government". In October 2016, Hamas reshuffled its Vice-Ministers of the unity government, without Abbas's consent, thereby creating a de facto new Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.
Background Pursuant to the Oslo Accords, the authority of the PA Government is limited to some civil rights of the Palestinians in the West Bank Areas A and B and in the Gaza Strip, and to internal security in Area A and in Gaza. Hamas seized Gaza from Abbas's control in 2007 and has been the de facto government in Gaza since.
On 3 May 2011, Fatah and Hamas signed the 2011 Cairo agreement,Support the Palestinian unity government. Jimmy Carter, Washington Post, 3 May 2011 which promised the formation of a consensus government with the aim to prepare Presidential, Legislative and Palestinian National Council elections to be held in May 2012. Other tasks would be the formation of a "Higher Security Committee", the reconstruction operations in the Gaza Strip (after the 2008/2009 Operation Cast Lead) and the efforts to end the siege and blockade imposed on Gaza, end the split of the governments in West Bank and Gaza, and reactivate the Palestinian Legislative Council.Text Of The Agreement Between Fatah And Hamas, 3 May 2011. Source:United Nations Peacemaker
In the Fatah–Hamas Doha Agreement of 7 February 2012, both parties again agreed to form an interim national consensus government composed of independent technocrats, to prepare for upcoming elections. It would be led by President Mahmoud Abbas. After the implementation of the agreement had been stalled, allegedly because Hamas leaders had refused to allow the registration of new voters in Gaza, a new agreement was signed in May 2012. Eventually, a unity government did not materialize and Abbas established a new PA Government in the West Bank on 6 June 2013, headed by Rami Hamdallah.
On 23 April 2014, Fatah and Hamas concluded the 2014 Fatah–Hamas Gaza Agreement to form a national unity government within five weeks, to be followed by presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on the same day by December.Fatah, Hamas agree to form Palestinian unity government . France 24/AP, 23 April 2014
Establishment The Unity Government was formed on 2 June 2014 following the agreement between Fatah and Hamas. After the inauguration ceremony, President Mahmoud Abbas said in a televised speech that was broadcast on Palestine TV, that the unity government would serve as an interim government with its main mission to prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections.Palestinian unity government prepares for presidential and parliamentary elections. Khaled Abu Toameh, Jerusalem Post, 2 June 2014 Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah considered the formation of this government as the first step toward ending the division, uniting the Palestinian homeland and institutions and bringing about national reconciliation. He said that the government's tasks included addressing division, reuniting state institutions, commencing Gaza reconstruction and paving the way for facilitating presidential and parliamentary elections.Prime Minister Condemns Israeli Calls to Boycott, Impose Sanctions on New Unity Government. WAFA, 3 June 2014
The new government was composed of technocrat members. The ministers were nominally independent, but overwhelmingly seen as loyal to President Abbas and his Fatah movement or to smaller leftist factions. None was believed to be affiliated with Hamas.Thumbnails of key ministers in Palestinian Cabinet. Associated Press, 2 June 2014US: Palestinian unity government not backed by Hamas. Jerusalem Post, 4 June 2014
In March 2016, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahar said that Hamas had agreed with a government without Hamas as a coexistence between different programmes rather than "a mix of interests". He said the government's task was to improve electricity and rebuild the Gaza Strip, improve the situation of the Palestinians in Gaza and prepare for elections was the condition for not being part of any government.‘Reconciliation is not a mix of interests,’ says Hamas official . MEMO, 5 March 2016
Like the former emergency governments after June 2007, which were installed by presidential decree, this unity government was in fact illegal, as it was not approved by the Legislative Council.2003 Amended Basic Law, Article 66: "Once the Prime Minister selects the members of the government, the Prime Minister shall submit a request to the Legislative Council to hold a special session for a vote of confidence ... The session shall be held no later than one week from the date of submission of the request." Article 67: "After obtaining the vote of confidence and before assuming their offices, the Prime Minister and members of the government shall take the constitutional oath, stipulated in Article 35 of this Basic Law, before the President of the National Authority."2003 Amended Basic Law, 18 March 2003Hamas threatens vote of no confidence in Abbas. Al-Monitor, 21 November 2014. "Moreover, it is illegal as it has yet to get the vote of confidence of the parliament, knowing that it was formed five months ago" "A senior official in the office of Abbas told...Hamas' expected step to withdraw the confidence from the government is illegal, as it is an interim one and did not originally get the parliament's vote of confidence to have it withdrawn. Moreover, when Hamas signed the reconciliation agreement and accepted the government formation, it knew full well that there was no agreement to put this government to vote." Without the cooperation of all parties, however, it was not possible to get the necessary quorum to put a vote.Abbas takes aim at political enemies with mass dismissals, cabinet reshuffle. Khaled Abu Toameh, Jerusalem Post, 17 December 2015
The agreement that led to the formation of the consensus government also calls for reforming the PLO, that ostensibly represents all Palestinians inside and outside the occupied territories. It includes holding elections for the Palestine National Council, the PLO's long-neglected parliament-in-exile, and expanding PLO membership to include Hamas and other political parties.Palestinian political crisis deepens with collapse of unity government. Al Jazeera America, 19 June 2015
Dispute about the Prisoners' Affairs Ministry Hours before the swearing-in ceremony on 2 June, Hamas threatened not to recognize the unity government if it did not include a Minister for Prisoner Affairs. Abbas wanted to dissolve the Ministry in favour of forming a prisoner affair administration under control of the PLO.Palestinian unity government sworn in at Ramallah ceremony. Ynetnews, 2 June 2014Palestinians hail unity as new government sworn in. Times of Israel, 2 June 2014 In the end, the Prisoners' Affairs Ministry was turned into a commission that would be temporarily run by Shawki al-Issa, the Minister of Agriculture and Social Affairs, upon a decision by the PLO.
In September 2014, the PA declared that the Prisoners Affairs Ministry was replaced with the new established "Higher National Commission for Prisoners and Detainees Affairs", headed by former PA Prisoners Affairs Minister Issa Qaraqe. The Commission came under the responsibility of the PLO. The move was said to have been taken at the request of Israel and Western donor countries, who objected the financial aid the former Ministry provided to Palestinian prisoners of Israel.PA replaces prisoners ministry with PLO body. Khaled Abu Toameh, Jerusalem Post, 2 September 2014
After the change, media continued referring to Qaraqe as the "Palestinian minister for prisoner affairs",Nobel Peace Prize winners send award to Marwan Barghouti. MEMO, 6 April 2016Palestinian politician jailed for 15 months by Israeli court. Middle East Eye, 7 December 2015Palestinian minister opposes prisoner hunger strikes. Elhanan Miller, The Times of Israel, 23 August 2015 while Ma'an News Agency in July 2015 used the title "Minister of Prisoners' Affairs"Israeli wardens assault PFLP leader in ongoing prison crackdown. Ma'an News Agency, 28 July 2015 and in 2016 "Head of the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners' Affairs".Palestinian on run from Israel 'assassinated' in Bulgaria. Ma'an News Agency, 26 February 2016
In December 2015, Ma'an wrote that the PA had cut the salaries of former Palestinian prisoners. In a response, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) said that some of them were no longer paid due to their political affiliations. Others were requested to prove that they actually became sick while in prison. the PPS said they may not recognize the "legitimacy" of the Palestinian Authority.PA cuts salaries of 60 former prisoners of Israel. Ma'an News Agency, 17 December 2015
Upon the formation of the government in 2014, former long-serving deputy Minister for Prisoners' Affairs Ziad Abu Ein became in charge of the portfolio for the struggle against the Israeli West Bank barrier and the settlements, a role equivalent to the rank of a minister in the Palestinian Authority government.Calls for Calm After Palestinian Official Dies During Protest in the West Bank. Isabel Kershner and Said Ghazali, New York Times, 10 December 2014."Mr. Abu Ein ... was in charge of the portfolio for the struggle against the Israeli West Bank barrier and the settlements, a role equivalent to the rank of a minister in the Palestinian Authority government, according to Palestinian officials." Abu Ein died on 10 December 2014, during protest in the West Bank "after inhaling tear gas and being shoved and struck in the chest by a member of the Israeli security forces".
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