Second Haniyeh Government
Date formed17 March 2007
Date dissolved14 June 2007
People and organisations
Head of stateMahmoud Abbas
Head of governmentIsmail Haniyeh
No. of ministers25
History
Legislature term(s)Palestinian Legislative Council (2006–2010)
PredecessorFirst Haniyeh Government
SuccessorSalam Fayyad Emergency Government

The Second Haniyeh Government, also known as the Palestinian National Unity Government of March 2007 (Arabic: المجلس الفلسطيني لآذار 17 2007), was a Palestinian Authority unity government headed by Ismail Haniyeh, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority that was formed on 17 March 2007 and dissolved on 14 June 2007.[1]

The Unity Government was formed on 17 March 2007 following negotiations in Mecca, but due to failing international support (because it did not meet the conditions required by the Quartet on the Middle East), it was short-lived. Israel immediately rejected the Government and said it will deal with Abbas, but not with the new government unless it recognizes the Jewish state. Israeli officials said they would try to persuade the world not to deal with the government.[1]

The Government was dissolved by President Mahmoud Abbas on 14 June 2007 after the Hamas takeover of Gaza.

Background

Hamas decisively won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election held on 25 January 2006. Israel and the Quartet on the Middle East had previously stated that their continued aid to and dialogue with the PA under a Hamas government was conditional on Hamas agreeing to three conditions: recognition of Israel, the disavowal of violent actions, and acceptance of previous agreements between Israel and the PA, including the Oslo Accords. Haniya refused to accept these conditions. On the day the First Haniyeh Government was sworn in, on 29 March, Israel and the Quartet stopped all dialogue with the PA and especially any member of the Hamas government, ceased providing aid to the PA and imposed sanctions against the PA under Hamas.[2] Israel had also withheld the transfers of PA revenues for more than a year.[3][4]

President Abbas and the Fatah-dominated PLO developed a plan to replace the Hamas government with one acceptable to Israel and the international community. According to the plan, unveiled in Al Jazeera's Palestine Papers, a national unity government would be formed to prepare early presidential and legislative elections by mid-2007. If the establishment of a government meeting the Quartet's conditions failed, Abbas would dismiss the government and form an emergency government or call early elections. An "Action Plan Leading to Early Elections" envisioned a strong enlargement of Fatah's Presidential Guard, internal reform of Fatah, empowering of presidential institutions, resumption of aid by the international community through the President's Office, and the end of withholding of taxes by Israel.[5][6]

Timeline

On 25 January 2006, Hamas won the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).

On 29 March 2006, the First Haniyeh-led PA government was sworn in. Israel, the United States, the European Union and several other countries impose sanctions against the PA, including suspension of all international aid.

On 17 June 2006, a temporary international mechanism was created to channel aid to Palestinians bypassing the Hamas-led PA government, including paying aid funds directly to the accounts of President Abbas.[7]

On 8 February 2007, negotiations resulted in the Fatah–Hamas Mecca Agreement to form a Palestinian national unity government.[8] The agreement was signed by Abbas on behalf of Fatah and by Khaled Mashal on behalf of Hamas.[9] The agreement also contained a "letter of commission" from Abbas to Haniyeh, calling on Haniyeh as premier of the next government to achieve Palestinian national goals as approved by the Palestine National Council, the Basic Law and the National Reconciliation Document (the Prisoners' Document) as well as the decisions of the Arab summit.[8]

On 17 March 2007, Haniyeh presented the national unity government to the PLC,[10] which was approved 83–3. At the time, 41 of the 132 members of the PLC were in Israeli detention.[1] The 25 ministers were sworn in the next day by President Abbas.[1][11] The program of the national unity government included ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and recognizing the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty within the 1967 borders, with al-Quds as its capital,[1] implementation of the Cairo Agreement pertaining to the PLO, and commitment to the Palestinian right of return.[10] Israel rejected the new government.

Between 10 and 14 June 2007, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip after fierce battles between Fatah and Hamas.[12][13]

On 14 June 2007, President Abbas declared a state of emergency by presidential decree, and dismissed the Haniyeh-led unity government.[14] He appointed an emergency government led by Salam Fayyad and controversially suspended articles of the Basic Law to dispense with the need for PLC approval of the new government.[14][15][16][17] The Fayyad government was swiftly recognized by the international community. Haniyeh and Hamas have refused to accept the dismissal, and continues to claim it is the legitimate caretaker government of the Palestinian Authority on the basis that the PLC, which continues to be controlled by Hamas, has not approved the new government.

Members of the Government

March to June 2007[11]

Minister Office Party
1Ismail Hanieh Prime Minister Hamas
2Azzam al-Ahmad Deputy Prime Minister Fatah
3Salam Fayyad Finance Minister Third Way
4Ziad Abu Amr Foreign Affairs Minister Independent
5Talab al-Qawasmi Interior Minister Independent
6Nasser Eddin al-Sha'er Education Minister Hamas
7Mustafa al-Barghouthi Information Palestinian National Initiative
8Bassam al-Salhi Culture Palestinian People's Party
9Radwan al-Akhras Health Fatah
10Sa'di al-Krunz Transport Fatah
11Mahmoud Aloul Labour Fatah
12Saleh Zeidan Social Affairs Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
13Taysir Abu Sneineh Prisoners' Affairs Fatah
14Samir Abu Eisheh Planning Hamas
15Mohammed al-Barghouthi Local Government Hamas
16Ziad al-Zaza Economic Affairs Hamas
17Basem Naim Youth and Sports Hamas
18Yousef al-Mansi Telecommunications and Information Technology Hamas
19Mohammed al-Agha Agriculture Hamas
20Khouloud D'eibes Tourism Independent
21Samih al-Abed Public Works Fatah
22Ali al-Sartawi Justice Hamas
23Hussein Tartouri Waqf and Religious Affairs Hamas
24Amal Syam Woman Affairs Hamas
25Wasfi Kabha State Hamas

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Palestinians OK Unity Govt. Arab News, 18 March 2007
  2. ↑ John Pike. "Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement)". Globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Report on UNCTAD assistance to the Palestinian people: Developments in the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, para 9-24. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 6 July 2015 (doc.nr. TD/B/62/3). Source
  4. ↑ Israel’s retaliatory seizure of tax, pp. 10-11. Al-Haq, 1 April 2015. Here available
  5. ↑ "Palestinian Vision for Resolving the Current PA Crisis (Draft #6)". Investigations. The Palestine Papers. Doha, Qatar: Al Jazeera. 30 October 2006. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  6. ↑ International Crisis Group (5 October 2006). The Arab-Israeli Conflict: To Reach a Lasting Peace (Crisis Group Middle East Report N°58) (PDF) (Report). Brussels, Belgium: International Crisis Group. pp. 3–4.
  7. ↑ US "Blocks" Palestinian Aid Plan Archived 15 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News; Powers agree Palestinian Aid Plan Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News; Palestinians to Get Interim Aid Archived 8 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News
  8. 1 2 Middle East Report No. 62: After Mecca: Engaging Hamas Archived 3 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine, International Crisis Group (26 February 2007).
  9. ↑ Palestinian rivals sign power-sharing deal, Associated Press (8 February 2007).
  10. 1 2 PM Hanieh Speech before the PLC March 17, 2007. JMCC. Archived on 4 October 2009
  11. 1 2 The PA Ministerial Cabinet List—The National Unity Government March 2007. JMCC. Archived on 4 October 2009
  12. ↑ Haaretz/Associated Press, 10 June 2007, Palestinian gunmen target Haniyeh's home in Gaza. On web.archive.org
  13. ↑ Guardian, 15 June 2007, Hamas takes control of Gaza
  14. 1 2 Presidential Decrees Issued on June - July 2007. JMCC, archived on 12 October 2007
  15. ↑ "Abbas Dissolves Palestinian Authority Government in Wake of Hamas-Fatah War". Fox News. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  16. ↑ Levinson, Charles; Matthew Moore (14 June 2007). "Abbas declares state of emergency in Gaza". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 18 June 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  17. ↑ "Abbas sacks Hamas-led government". BBC News. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
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