Hamas: New West Bank government illegal

Islamic Hamas movement, which controls Gaza, renewed its claim that the government being formed in the West Bank was illegal. "This is reproduction of previous experiences and formations by the (Palestinian National) Authority President Mahmoud Abbas," said Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum. Barhoum was commenting on Abbas' authorization of an academic in the West Bank to form a government to replace the Western- backed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who was first assigned as a premier when Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces and took over Gaza in 2007. Fayyad quit last month over differences with Abbas. Upon accepting Fayyad's resignation, Abbas said he will form a unified transitional government ruling Gaza and the West Bank as agreed earlier between his Fatah party and Hamas, but the two sides failed to implement their Qatari and Egyptian-brokered deals. Hamas, having won legislative elections in 2006, considers itself the legitimate government though Abbas fired it after losing Gaza. Barhoum said that appointing a new prime minister in the West Bank "will not resolve the problems and doesn't achieve unity because it was not reviewed by the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)." He added that Abbas should have implemented the reconciliation deals because they include elections and the formation of a government.