Haniyeh new Palestinian PM
2006-02-19 12:49
Gaza City - Ismail Haniyeh, a prominent Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, was nominated on Sunday to be Palestinian prime minister.
The militant group announced the nomination in a text message, a day after its members were sworn into the new Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament. The nomination was widely expected.
Haniyeh, 46, is seen as a leader of the more pragmatic wing of Hamas.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was expected later on Sunday to formally charge Haniyeh with the task of putting together a new Cabinet. Haniyeh would then have three weeks to submit a government to Abbas for approval.
Addressing the parliament on Saturday, Abbas said he expected Hamas to honour existing peace accords with Israel and halt violence. Hamas leaders rejected those calls, but signaled a willingness to compromise.
Israel's acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, ruled out any contacts with a Hamas-led government. The group has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and remains committed to Israel's destruction.
Born in Gaza's Shati refugee camp, Haniyeh graduated from Gaza City's Islamic University in 1987 with a degree in Arabic literature and became a close associate of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin.
Haniyeh was expelled by Israel to south Lebanon in 1992, returned to Gaza a year later and became the dean of the Islamic University. In 1998, he took charge of Yassin's office.
A pragmatist, he served as a liaison between Hamas and Palestinian Authority, established in 1994 and dominated by the rival Fatah movement.
He rose to prominence after Israel's assassinations in 2004 of Yassin and Yassin's successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi. He has been a member of the political leadership of Hamas since the 1990s.
- AP