RAMALLAH, west bank — The formation of a Palestinian unity government backed by rivals Hamas and Fatah will be announced Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday, adding that Israel warned him it would take punitive steps against the new alliance.
The formation of the government would be the most significant step yet toward ending a crippling 7-year-old Palestinian political split. However, it is also bound to increase friction between Abbas and Israel’s hard-line government.
Abbas said Saturday that he would respond to any Israeli punitive measures, such as withholding the monthly transfer of about $100 million in taxes and customs that Israel collects on behalf of his Palestinian Authority. The funds are vital to keeping the self-rule government afloat.
After the April collapse of U.S.-mediated Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the Palestinian rivals revived reconciliation efforts. Negotiators met repeatedly to agree on a government of technocrats backed by both sides that is to prepare for general elections in 2015.
In recent days, there were last-minute disagreements, but Abbas’ announcement suggests the issues have been resolved.
“The announcement of the government will be on Monday,” he said during a meeting with several dozen pro-Palestinian activists from France. “The Israelis informed us today that they are going to boycott us immediately after we form the government.”
“They are going to withhold our money,” he said, referring to the monthly transfers. “This is our money, not aid from Israel, and we will not stay silent. They want to punish us because we have an agreement with Hamas, which is part of our people.”
A senior Israeli government official said the formation of a unity government “is a great leap backward,” but declined to say whether Israel would take punitive action. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue.
Palestinian officials have said a state of Palestine is eligible for membership in 63 international organizations, treaties and conventions.
Contentious history
The long-running rivalry between the Islamic militant group Hamas and the ruling Fatah movement escalated in 2007 when Hamas seized the Gaza Strip from internationally backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007. Hamas, which has carried out scores of bombing, shooting and rocket attacks against Israeli targets, is considered a terrorism group by Israel and the West.
