Gaza City, Gaza Strip — The Hamas Cabinet resigned Thursday to make way for a coalition with the rival Fatah of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who gave his blessing despite what his aides said was a warning from the U.S. that Washington would shun the new government.
Abbas presided over a brief ceremony in which Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas submitted the resignation of his Cabinet, ending months of stop-and-go power-sharing negotiations.
Abbas then asked Haniyeh, as head of a caretaker government, to form a Hamas-Fatah coalition within five weeks. In his letter of appointment, Abbas said the new government must "respect" international accords, wording that implies acceptance of Israel but falls short of international demands for explicit recognition.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack would not confirm the report of a possible U.S. boycott, saying only that the U.S. will not judge a Palestinian government until it has been formed, and that its performance would be reviewed.
The international demands have put Abbas in a bind. Had he pulled out of the deal with Hamas, he could have been branded a traitor by his people, become increasingly ineffective and triggered more factional fighting. Since May, more than 130 Palestinians have been killed in Fatah-Hamas clashes.
In moving forward with the partnership, Abbas will likely deepen the Palestinians' isolation.
Abbas had been trying for months to form a coalition between Hamas and Fatah, in hopes that such a coalition could persuade the West to end its crippling aid boycott of the Hamas-led government.
Last week, in power-sharing talks hosted by Saudi Arabia, he was unable to wrest a clear commitment from Hamas that it will recognize Israel. Instead, he had to settle for the vague promise that Hamas will "respect" previous peace deals with the Jewish state, implying recognition.
In response, the U.S. and Israel said only that they expect a Palestinian government to meet the international demands.
Palestinian officials had tried to put a positive spin on Washington's silence.
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