New Palestinian govt sworn in
17:17, 20 May 2009
RAMALLAH, West Bank. May 20. KAZINFORM A new Palestinian government, again headed by Salam Fayyad, was sworn in yesterday. The new Cabinet took the oath of office at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Kazinform refers to The Arab News.
About half of the 25 ministers are Fatah members and the remainder belong to other groups. There is no Hamas member in the Cabinet.
The ceremony came a day after Fatah and Hamas adjourned a fifth round of talks in Egypt without agreeing on a unity deal. The rival factions have been at loggerheads since Hamas forces ousted loyalists of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from the Gaza Strip in June 2007.
Since then, Hamas has run the Gaza Strip and Fatah has been in charge of the West Bank.
Hamas yesterday accused Abbas of ?deliberately sabotaging the Palestinian dialogue.? ?This government is illegal and we will not recognize it,? Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.
Agreement between the two factions is vital for the reconstruction of Gaza, devastated by Israel?s 22-day war on the Palestinians in December and January that killed more than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, Kazinform cites The Arab News.
See www.arabnews.com for full version.