Hamas downplays Fayyad's resignation

Hamas downplayed the decision of Palestinian caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to resign on Saturday, saying they expected the move.

In a statement released shortly after Fayyad’s announcement Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said that Fayyad's government was unconstitutional and not in keeping with Palestinians' interests.

“We don't think this resignation has anything to do with the Cairo talks, or with the formation of a Palestinian unity [national consensus] government. It rather came as a result of personal disagreement between Fayyad and [President Mahmoud] Abbas,” said Barhoum.

“This end was expected because it [Fayyad's government] was null from the beginning and was based on personal interests rather than Palestinian interests. In fact, that government damaged Palestinian interests,” he added.

Barhoum also said that Fayyad wanted to take advantage of disagreements with the president in order to position himself to take a role in a future government.

Another senior Hamas leader, Salah Al-Bardawil, said Fayyad had unstated motivations for his resignation. Speaking in Gaza the sidelines of the celebrations of Jerusalem as Capital of Arab Culture, he cited four factors he believes were behind Fayyad’s decision:

1- Fayyad was not accepted by the people because he was seen as “harming the resistance.”
2- Disagreements with Fatah. Bardawil argued that while Fatah installed Fayyad as prime minister, he did not defer to Fatah movement leaders.
3- Fayyad has been mentioned as a possible successor to Abbas if the president were to resign in protest of Israeli policies. Bardawil suggested that Abbas had pressured Fayyad to step aside because of this.
4- Fayyad will remain illegal as prime minister if he continues because he was not appointed by the PLC.

Al-Bardawil said he hopes Fayyad’s resignation will bolster the Palestinian reconciliation dialogue.

Source: Maan News Agency