'Illegal' Palestinian govt to be sworn in

A new Palestinian Cabinet will be sworn in today in a move which Hamas claims is illegal.

US diplomats say a crippling aid embargo on the region may be lifted once Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas appoints a government without the Islamic militants.

The money is unlikely to reach Gaza, now controlled by Hamas and cut off from the world.

The new Cabinet is to be sworn in later in the West Bank, where Fatah forces stormed government offices yesterday, just three days after Hamas seized control of Gaza and Mr Abbas dismantled the Hamas-Fatah coalition government in response.

Mr Abbas issued a decree early this morning annulling a law requiring the new government to be approved by parliament, which is dominated by Hamas.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the decree was illegal.

“This escalates the crisis, and the president bears the responsibility for all the consequences of these developments,” he said.

In a boost for Mr Abbas, Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert said the new Palestinian government would create a “new opportunity” for the peace process. Mr Olmert has long welcomed Mr Abbas as a negotiating partner, but said his alliance with Hamas has made peacemaking virtually impossible.

“We have a new opportunity … that we haven’t had in a long time,” Olmert told reporters on board his plane shortly before taking off for a meeting at the White House.

“The situation has changed, which enables diplomatic progress … We intend to act to take advantage of this situation,” he said, welcoming the fact that: “A government that is not Hamas is a partner.”

In Gaza, panicked residents stocked up, fearing growing shortages of food, fuel and other staples as the crossings of the fenced-in strip with Israel and Egypt remained closed. Hundreds of other Gazans rushed to the border- crossing with Israel to try to escape Hamas rule, but found gates locked. Israeli troops briefly fired warning shots.

Senior officials of Mr Abbas’ Fatah movement, who had fled Gaza, started reaching the West Bank.

The head of Palestine TV said he had crawled for several hundred yards to evade gunfire at the Gaza-Israel crossing before making it to safety.

“Hamas has always targeted me. Once they fired shots are my car. And they wrote on their website that I am broadcasting sedition,” said Abdel Salam Abu Nada. Recently, he received an ominous text message on his mobile phone saying: “Your punishment is coming.”

Across Gaza, Hamas cemented control. Prime minister Ismail Haniya, who has ignored Mr Abbas' order firing him, replaced Fatah security commanders with his own men, and Hamas gunmen rounded up their opponents’ weapons.

In the southern town of Khan Younis, members of the most powerful local clan refused to hand over their guns, and a firefight erupted. Hamas fighters stormed the homes of clan members, saying they confiscated drugs and a weapons cache.

Two Fatah loyalists were killed yesterday, and the bodies of seven Hamas members were found in the basement of the Preventive Security Service headquarters, a Fatah stronghold captured on Thursday, while the bullet-riddled corpse of a Fatah field commander turned up in southern Gaza.

More than 100 people have been killed in a week of clashes.

In the West Bank, gunmen from Abbas’ Fatah movement attacked Hamas-run institutions, taking control of the parliament and several government ministries.

The US consul general in Jerusalem, Jacob Walles, met with Mr Abbas at his headquarters in Ramallah yesterday, and said an embargo on aid is expected to be lifted once the new government is sworn in.

“I expect that we are going to be engaged with this government,” Mr Walles said after the meeting. “I expect that early next week. There will be some announcements in Washington, specifically about our assistance and about the financial regulations.”

The boycott, which has crippled the Palestinian economy, continued even after Fatah joined Hamas in a coalition in March.

Hamas has not explained how it would run Gaza without foreign support or contact with the outside world.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, ending a 38-year-old military occupation.