THE Palestinian unity government has been sworn in, and has the backing of both the Fatah and Hamas movements.
The defiant formation of the national unity government comes after the Israeli regime openly sabotaged the peace talks by making demands that the Palestinian leadership could not agree to, such as recognising Israel as a Jewish state, and having Israeli troops on Palestine’s borders, and entry and exit points.
These demands, along with decisions to continue with settlement building and not to release all of the long-term Palestinian prisoners, ensured that the talks could not succeed. Now hundreds of Palestinian prisoners of Israel are on hunger strike, with many hospitalised!
What has greatly angered the Zionist leadership is that it was unable to maintain the support of the United States, its main backer, for its position, even though the US had been a party to, or even the author of, the suggestions that Israel is a ‘Jewish state’ and that foreign troops would be policing the borders of Palestine, as if Palestine was to be a bigger refugee camp, instead of an independent state.
The US has said it will work with the new government, a move that Israel described as ‘disappointing’, while the EU and the UN have recognised the Palestinian government. Israel is now openly adopting a position of sabotage of the Palestinian national unity government.
Ministers of the new Palestinian unity government are planning a cabinet meeting in the Gaza Strip, but the Israeli occupation continues to deny them permits to allow them to travel inside their own country!
Four members of the new unity government still have not been officially sworn into office, given that Israel rejected their requests to travel to Ramallah for Monday’s inauguration ceremony. In a statement, Netanyahu urged world leaders not to ‘rush to recognise’ the new government.
The US State Department spokeswoman, Psaki, however said Washington believed President Abbas had ‘formed an interim technocratic government … that does not include members affiliated with Hamas.
‘Based on what we know now, we intend to work with this government but will be watching closely to ensure that it upholds principles that President Abbas reiterated today,’ she said.
‘We are deeply disappointed by the State Department regarding working with the Palestinian unity government,’ an Israeli official said.
The new government comprises 17 politically independent ministers and must organise elections to be held within six months.
As the new administration took office, the Hamas government in Gaza resigned.
During the course of ‘peace negotiations’, the Israeli government announced plans for thousands of illegal settler homes, killed over 60 Palestinians, and demolished a total of 508 Palestinian structures, 312 of which were homes.
Now a new chapter has opened in which the Palestinian state must be established with its capital East Jerusalem, with no settlements, with Palestinian officials and troops guarding its frontiers and with all Palestinian refugees having the right to return.
This is not just a matter for the Palestinian people but for the working people of the entire world.
Israel must not be allowed to sabotage and harass the new unity government. This means that the states that recognise the national unity government must demand that Israel end its occupation of the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, and if Israel refuses, impose the heaviest sanctions on it, and demand that these sanctions have the support of the UN Security Council.
Friendly states must support the Palestinian government establishing state bodies, including modern well-equipped and well-trained armed forces capable of defending the country.
Every trade union on the planet must adopt the policy of a permanent boycott of all Israeli goods and services as well as a complete economic and cultural boycott of Israel, until it ends the occupation.
They must begin a massive campaign in every country to end the occupation and establish the Palestinian state.
This is the way forward after the establishment of the Palestinian government of national unity.