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Palestinian Premier To Resign

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Los Angeles Times

Published: March 8, 2009

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, a U.S.-trained economist who gained international respect and hefty aid donations for the Palestinian cause, said he will resign in a move aimed at reviving a power-sharing deal with the militant group Hamas.

The shake-up is part of evolving leadership changes on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that could complicate U.S. President Barack Obama's search for peace.

In Israel, Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu is working to form a coalition government among right-wing parties that gained a majority in the parliament elected last month. He has said he will reorient Israel's talks with the Palestinians toward economic issues, away from the U.S.-supported goal of an independent Palestinian state.

With little hope for a statehood accord, the Palestinian Authority, led by the secular Fatah faction, is trying to end its bitter split with Hamas, an Islamic group that refuses to recognize the Jewish state. A reconciliation on terms favorable to Hamas would risk further alienating Israel.

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Fayyad voiced some of the frustration that led to his decision to resign.

He lamented the futility of a year of peace talks with Israel and the internal feud that has divided Palestinians between Fatah rule in the West Bank and Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip for nearly three years.

In his resignation letter, Fayyad said that by stepping aside, he hoped to ease negotiations between Hamas and Fatah on the makeup of an interim power-sharing deal. Those talks began last month and resume Tuesday.

Fayyad said he would leave office when an interim government is formed but no later than the end of this month.

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