BICOM

According to a report issued by the Reuters news agency, in the latest fallout from the events in Egypt the Palestinian Authority Cabinet is set to resign today. The new ministers, according to the report, will be selected by PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. PA Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat was the first to tender his resignation, on Saturday, prior to the release of the Reuters report. The shake-up was long demanded by Fayyad and some in Abbas’s Fatah faction. It appears to be taking place in response to the perceived need for greater responsiveness by Arab elites to the demands of their publics. Of 24 ministerial portfolios in Fayyad’s Cabinet, only 16 are currently held, with six others held by ministers stranded in Gaza, and a further two empty. It is expected that some ministers will keep their portfolios when the new Cabinet is formed.

The Reuters report of the resignation of the Palestinian Cabinet was preceded by a PA announcement of an intention to hold general elections in the PA areas by September. Yasser Abd Rabbo, a senior aide to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, made the announcement. Abd Rabbo said that both presidential elections and parliamentary elections would be held. No announcement of the precise date for the vote was made. Elections to the Palestine Legislative Council last took place in 2006, and presidential elections in 2004, so both are overdue. Hamas spokesmen, however, made clear following the announcement that they would neither participate in the elections, nor respect their results. Since Hamas is the de facto ruling power in the Gaza Strip, this raises serious questions as to how the elections will be conducted. However, it has also been suggested that Hamas may face pressure to take part in the elections, because of the wider mood in the Arab world following the deposing of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.