The new Palestinian Authority prime minister is a British-educated academic with no political experience who will be charged with forming the fifth Palestinian government since 2006.

    Western-educated academic to head Palestinian Government

    INCOMING Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said he would announce the composition of his government Thursday evening and reiterated that his Cabinet would govern only for a transitional period.

    “Consultations are in the final stage and hopefully we will announce the new government on Thursday evening,” Hamdallah told Voice of Palestine radio Wednesday.

    Hamdallah, a political independent and linguistics professor, was named June 2 by Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas to replace Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who quit in April but remained in his post while a successor was sought.

    Speaking to the official radio, the British-educated independent said he will strive to continue the work of his predecessor and that he is ready to stand aside for a Fatah-Hamas unity government.

    Hamdallah, who under Palestinian law has up to six weeks to establish one, said: “The new government will be a continuation of the last government, most of the ministers will continue to serve in their positions.” He added that his Cabinet was “part of the reconciliation efforts.”

    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on June 2 congratulated Hamdallah on his appointment as new Palestinian prime minister to replace Fayyad.

    “We congratulate Dr. Rami Hamdallah, the next prime minister of the Palestinian Authority,” Kerry said in a statement.

    “Together, we can choose the path of a negotiated two-state settlement that will allow Palestinians to fulfill their legitimate aspiration, and continue building the institutions of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state that will live in peace, security, and economic strength alongside Israel,” Kerry said.

    Fayyad, a former World Bank official credited with building Palestinian institutions needed to gain independence from Israel, resigned over an economic crisis caused by cuts in Western funds and Israeli freezes on money transfers over unilateral Palestinian moves on statehood.

    While the appointment is making the front pages of Palestinian newspapers, response on the street is muted.

    Many shoppers in central Ramallah said they had not heard of Hamdallah or only knew of him because of his 15-year tenure as head of the al-Najah National University.

    “I know he’s a leading academic but I don’t know him as a politician so it’s hard to say if he’ll succeed,” Abu Khaled said.

    “He will suffer a lot because there’s so much disagreement among the Palestinian people.”

    However, Raja Bassir said: “I don’t know him personally but why not give him a chance? The most important thing is that the new government should prioritize the interests of the people.”

    Some experts see the appointment of Hamdallah as a sign that Palestinians are unlikely to head to elections in the near future.

    “This is supposedly an interim measure but most likely it will last for a while,” says George Giacaman, a political science professor at Birzeit University.

    “Hamas has no real interest in elections as they are in government in Gaza. If they win there will be another international boycott and if they lose it will be bad. For Mahmoud Abbas it will be a risk to go for elections when he has nothing to show for it.”

    Hamas has called Hamdallah’s appointment illegal and said Abbas should have focused instead on ending the internal Palestinian divide.

    “This isn’t a unity government because it didn’t come as part of the reconciliation agreement (reached in Cairo),” said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza.

    “It’s not a professional government and it is not legal or legitimate because it didn’t come with the approval of the parliament.”

    Leaders of Abbas’ mainstream Fatah movement and Hamas officials agreed in May to work towards forming a unity government in August. But political differences, including over how to handle the conflict with Israel, have delayed a joint administration.

    Hamas, an Islamist group that won a parliamentary election in 2006, wrested control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah in a brief civil war in 2007 and rejects any recognition of Israel. Abbas has been party to U.S.-brokered efforts to revive peace talks that broke down in a dispute over Jewish settlement in 2010.

    “Secretary of State John Kerry is still exerting exhaustive and strenuous efforts with the Israelis and us, and I can say he is serious and cares about reaching a solution,” Abbas told reporters Tuesday.

    “I think the ball is in the Israeli court because the Palestinian demand is clear and is well known to the Americans and the Israelis. The Israelis need to accept it so that negotiations can begin,” he said, referring to his call for a freeze in settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

    It was possible Kerry could return to Israel and the Palestinian territories as early as next week, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington.

    On Monday, Kerry urged Israel and the Palestinians to revive the stalled peace talks, saying time was running out and “if we do not succeed now, we may not get another chance.”

    Kerry has visited Israel four times in his four months in office and is expected to return to the region soon to try to get negotiations under way.

    So far, no tangible results have been achieved due to the reluctance by the Israelis to make concessions on the settlements issue, and the deep schism between the weakened Fatah-dominated Palestinian National Authority and Hamas.

    Hamdallah, 54, considered close to Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction, was born in Anabta village near the northern town of Tulkarem. He received a doctorate in applied linguistics from the University of Lancaster in 1988 and a master’s from the University of Manchester in 1982. He graduated from the University of Jordan in 1980 with a degree in the English language. He is the head of Al-Najah University and secretary general of the Central Election Commission.

    As prime minister, Hamdallah is expected to focus on a domestic agenda, particularly the Palestinian economy. During a visit to Jordan last month, Kerry announced a plan to spur Palestinian growth with up to US$4 billion in private investment.

    (SD-Agencies)