DFLP: New PA government only has Fatah members

Secretary General of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Nayef Hawatmeh, said yesterday that the new Palestinian Authority (PA) government consists only of Fatah members.

The government, he told Russian news agency Sputnik, “does not prioritise the interests of our people or the Palestinian issue”. He reiterated that the government “does not consist of the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organisation] factions” and “is not a Palestinian unity government”.

Hawatmeh – who is currently visiting Russian capital Moscow – added: “Political will is needed in order to call for a meeting of all the Palestinian factions to agree on holding presidential, legislative and PNC [Palestinian National Council] elections.”

At the same time, he said that the “political and social gaps among the Palestinian factions are deep,” noting that decisions taken consensually by the PLO factions have not been implemented.

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Commenting on the result of the Israeli election, Hawatme said that the situation is “complex” as there are “two big blocs” in the Knesset, stating that despite the differences between them both are “expansionist”.

Regarding normalising ties with Israel, he said: “The Palestinian people and all of its factions are against all forms of normalisation with Israel as long as the Palestinian issues remain unresolved.”

He stated that the visit of newly re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Jordan is a form of normalisation, as is the speech by the Omani foreign minister at the Davos Forum in the Kingdom.

READ: Expert: PA ‘greatly disappointed’ with Israel election results