Palestinian Authority Government of March 2006

The Palestinian Authority Government of March 2006, also known as the First Haniyeh Government, was a government of the Palestinian National Authority (PA), led by Ismail Haniyeh, that was sworn in on 29 March 2006 and was followed by the Palestinian unity government of 17 March 2007. On 25 January 2006, Hamas had decisively won the election for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), and its leader Haniyeh formed the government, which comprised mostly Hamas members as well as four independents, after Fatah and other factions had refused to join a national unity government led by Hamas. It was the first Hamas-led PA government in the Palestinian territories.''Palestinian PM to quit after poll''
BBC, 26 January 2006''TIMELINE: Key events since 2006''
Reuters, 20 June 2007''The Impact of Semi-Presidentialism on Governance in the Palestinian Authority'' (pdf)
Francesco Cavatorta and Robert Elgie. Parliam Affairs (2009)
(Also in HTML version)
br />p. 9: Hamas offered Fatah a grand coalition, but Fatah refused"

Hamas has sworn to destroy Israel and is considered by the main donor countries to the PA to be a terrorist organization. The Quartet on the Middle East — comprising the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia — had said that its members would not deal with the Hamas government unless Hamas recognized Israel's right to exist, forswears violence and accepts the validity of previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements, including the Oslo Accords. Hamas rejected these conditions and a substantial part of the international community, especially Israel and the United States, refused to deal with the Hamas government, suspended aid to the Hamas-dominated PA government and imposed sanctions. On the swearing in of the Hamas government, Israel also withheld taxes collected on behalf of the PA, which would last for 12 months. In an attempt to deflect Israeli and international argument that the government was dominated by a terrorist organisation, in April 2006 Hamas ministers resigned membership in Hamas. To forestall a worsening humanitarian crisis and the collapse of the PA, the EU proposed the setting up of a " temporary international mechanism" (TIM) to channel international funds to the Palestinians through the Palestinian president, bypassing the Hamas-led government. TIM was accepted by the Quartet and the United States on 17 June 2006.

Following the abduction of Gilad Shalit on 25 June 2006 by Gaza-based Palestinian militants, Israel detained nearly a third of the PLC members and ministers, all officials or supporters of Hamas.''Palestinian Legislative Council Members''
. Addameer, 2013

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.

Formation

The Palestinian legislative election, held on 25 January 2006, was won by Hamas. On 26 January 2006, Fatah leader Saeb Erakat said his party did not want to join a Hamas Government. The Fatah Central Committee decided that Fatah will not join the next Government, but said it would depend on President Abbas. On 28 January 2006, Hamas declared it would try to form a Government of technocrats, if a government with Fatah and all the political groups was not possible. On 29 January 2006, PLC deputies from Fatah confirmed after talks with Abbas that their faction would not join Hamas in a coalition Government and would prefer to sit in opposition, despite calls by Hamas for a “political partnership”. The decision was, however, not discussed and ratified by the Fatah Central Committee.''Chronological Review of Events Relating to the Question of Palestine Monthly media monitoring review, January 2006''
UN, Division for Palestinian Rights, 8 February 2006.
Day 26:"Saeb Erakat, who won re-election to the PLC in his home town of Jericho, beating back a challenge from a Hamas candidate, said his party did not want to join a Hamas Government. ... “The Fatah Central Committee has decided that Fatah will not join the next Government,” Intissar Wazir, a member of the Committee, said after the group met to discuss the outcome of the PLC elections. Officials said the ultimate decision on whether Fatah could join a new Government would still depend on PA President Abbas." Day 29: "After talks with PA President Abbas, PLC deputies from Fatah confirmed that their faction would not join Hamas in a coalition Government and would prefer to sit in opposition, despite calls by Hamas for a “political partnership”."

On 27 March 2006, Ismail Haniyeh announced formation of the new government, comprising Hamas members and four independents, to the Palestinian Legislative Council.''The ministerial statement of the new government as read by PM elect Ismail Hanieh in front of the PLC''
JMCC, 27 March 2006 On 28 March, the government was approved by the PLC and sworn in on 29 March 2006.''US cuts diplomatic ties with Hamas government''
Guardian, 29 March 2006

International reaction

After the Hamas victory at the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, Israel said that if Hamas was part of the new PA government, it would restrict the movement of money, people and goods into and out of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The Quartet on the Middle East had said that its members would not deal with the Hamas government unless Hamas recognized Israel's right to exist, forswears violence and accepts the validity of previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.''U.S. and Israelis Are Said to Talk of Hamas Ouster''
Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 14 February 2006 Hamas rejected these conditions and a substantial part of the international community, especially Israel and the United States, refused to deal with the Hamas government, and imposed sanctions.

Following the swearing in of a Hamas-led government on 29 March 2006, Israel, the United States and the Quartet imposed sanctions against the PA.''Funds Cut, Gaza Faces a Plague of Health Woes''
New York Times, 8 May 2006 On the swearing in of the Hamas government, Israel also withheld taxes collected on behalf of the PA, which would last for 12 months.

Timeline

Due to the Israeli blockade, Ministers from West Bank and Gaza were compelled to communicate by videophone. One of the first acts of the Hamas cabinet was to freeze a round of appointments by the outgoing Fatah-led government.''Palestinians' Hamas Leader Faces Myriad of Problems''
The New York Times, 6 April 2006.
"Israel refuses to allow Hamas officials to pass between the West Bank and Gaza, in addition to other steps aimed at increasing its isolation."

A struggle for power between President Abbas and the new government emerged over the security services. Abbas made Fatah-affiliated Rashid Abu Shbak head of the three branches of the Palestinian Security Services, with authority to hire and fire officers in the three security branches, bypassing the authority of the Hamas Interior Minister. He also ordered all diplomatic statements and dealings be coordinated with the Fatah-dominated Palestine Liberation Organization, after Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar had sent a letter to the UN Secretary General.''Hamas Ministers Resign Membership in Movement to Appease U.S., Israel''
Arnon Regular, Haaretz, 7 April 2006

In April 2006, it was announced that the Hamas Ministers in the cabinet had resigned their membership in Hamas, in an effort to reduce Israeli and international pressure, facing the economic siege. The government was followed by a unity government of March 2007.

Members of the Government

March 2006 to March 2007 ''The PA Ministerial Cabinet List March 2006 - March 2007''
JMCC. Archived on 4 October 2009

See also

*Palestinian government
* Palestinian Prisoners' Document

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palestinian Authority Government of 2006 03
Palestinian National Authority governments
2006 establishments in the Palestinian territories
2007 disestablishments in the Palestinian territories
Cabinets established in 2006
Cabinets disestablished in 2007