Gaza City, Gaza Strip – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formally asked Hamas on Tuesday to establish the new government, while the top Hamas leader said Iran was likely to play an increasingly important role in Palestinian affairs.
At his seaside compound in Gaza City, Abbas appointed Ismail Haniyeh, 42, to lead the government.
Hamas nominated Haniyeh as its candidate for prime minister on Sunday.
Tuesday’s meeting was a formality, though it set the clock ticking for Haniyeh, who now has up to five weeks to put together a Cabinet.
However, Hamas leaders say they would like to complete the process in two weeks.
The radical Islamic faction is facing a host of urgent challenges, with Israel imposing sanctions and Western countries refusing to deal with the group.
Meanwhile, the top overall Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal, held a second day of meetings in Iran, a country that has long been supportive of Hamas.
“With respect to the challenges that we have ahead of us, Iran’s role in the future of Palestine should continue and increase,” said Meshal, who lives in exile and will not be part of the new government.
“Talking to Israel is a waste of time as long as there is no talk about withdrawing from Palestine,” Meshal added, according to Reuters news agency.
A day earlier, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on Muslims around the world to support the Palestinians, though there was no announcement of a specific financial pledge from Iran.
Also, Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Algeria failed to reach agreement on a financial aid package for the Palestinians, The Associated Press reported from Algiers.
But Meshal said he was not worried about the prospects of reductions or cuts in money from the United States and Europe.
“If the West does not provide economic aid to Palestine, it can get the support from the Arab and Islamic countries,” Meshal said.
In Israel, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that while the likelihood of any agreements with a Hamas-led government was remote, he did not entirely rule it out.
Olmert’s centrist Kadima party is heavily favored over the left-leaning Labor Party and the conservative Likud in Israel’s national elections set for next month.