New temporary government in West Bank awaits stormy challenges

Palestinian observers said that a new government in the West Bank, to be formed under new Prime Minister Rami al-Hamadallah, is expected to face multiple economic and social challenges. Al-Hamadallah's predecessor, Salam Fayyad, quit his post as prime minister in April due to a series of internal social and economical crises. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday assigned the independent academic, al-Hamadallah, to form a new government. Observers noted that the upcoming new government is " exceptional and temporary," just to fulfill the vacuum left by Fayyad. Hamdallah earlier told Voice of Palestine radio that "The new government will serve as a supplement to the previous one which was headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad," noting that the ministries of finance and interior were likely to be handed to new members. Abbas' decision to assign al-Hamdallah was made after Fatah party and Islamic Hamas movement failed to implement a series of agreements reached in Qatar and Egypt to end six years of division and achieve internal reconciliation. Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, earlier told Xinhua that appointing a new prime minister in the West Bank "will not resolve the problems and doesn't achieve any unity because it was not reviewed by the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)." Hani al-Masri, political analyst and director of Badil center for studies and researches in the West Bank, ruled out that a transitional unity government that comprises Fatah and Hamas would be formed in August. "I believe the new government would last longer than scheduled," he told Xinhua. Ahmed Rafiq Awad, political science professor at Beir Zeit University, told Xinhua that al-Hamdallah as an academic does not usually mess with politics, not to mention that he keeps good ties with the West, therefore he is more likely to be accepted by the international community. Al-Hamdallah, 55 years old, earned a PH.D. in applied linguistics from Britain, has been the president of al-Najah University in the northern West Bank city of Nablus since 1998, and is also the Secretary General of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC). Israel has refrained from commenting on the assigning of al- Hamdallah as the new Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Prime Minister. However, the Israeli Daily Haaretz quoted senior Israeli officials as saying that al-Hamdallah "is a moderate pragmatic figure and keeps good ties with the Israelis." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry congratulated the formation of a new government by al-Hamdallah. The new government will inherit a severe financial crisis, as the shortage in the PNA budget has climbed to more than 1 billion U.S. dollars under Fayyad. It will also inherit a tense relationship between the PNA and public employees, as well as more protests on the high cost of living. The new government of al-Hamdallah would put much emphasis on economy development, Awad noted, ruling out that the new government would deal with the economical plans of Kerry, "which are apparently a bribe to attract the Palestinian leadership to resume the stalled peace talks." Khaled Mansour, a political activist based in the West Bank, told Xinhua that popular protests against the high cost of living and against the policy of the Palestinian government "will go on, until the coming government modifies the taxation laws and gain back the popular support."