Hamas formally takes power
2006-03-29 20:07
Gaza City - Hamas formally took power on Wednesday, with the Palestinian president swearing in its 24-member Cabinet, including 14 ministers who served time in Israeli prisons.
The ceremony, which came just a day after Israel's nation election, ended a two-month transition period of ambiguity since Hamas's election victory in January.
At a news conference in Gaza after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas swore in Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and his cabinet, Haniyeh said his relations with Abbas would be "co-operation and harmony, based on the supreme interest of the people".
Haniyeh said that together, they would confront "Israeli aggression against the people" as well as internal chaos.
With a Hamas government installed, the lines of confrontation with Israel were clearly drawn.
Hamas insists it won't soften its violent ideology.
Israel's presumed prime minister-designate, Ehud Olmert, has countered that if Hamas won't bend, he'll set the borders of a Palestinian state by himself and keep large areas of the West Bank.
Economic boycott
With Hamas at the helm, the Palestinian Authority also faces a crippling international economic boycott.
"With Hamas taking over now, you can't have business as usual," said Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Mark Regev.
Israel suspended tens of millions of dollars in monthly tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority after the Hamas election victory, and Regev said the Israeli cabinet would decide on additional sanctions next week.
Abbas, a moderate from the defeated Fatah Party, administered the oath to some of the cabinet ministers in a brief ceremony at Gaza City's parliament building.
With Israel banning the travel of Hamas leaders between the West Bank and Gaza, the remainder of the ministers held a separate ceremony in the West Bank.
The two settings were hooked up by videoconference.
The first to be sworn in was Haniyeh, who walked along a red carpet, then placed his hand on a copy of the Muslim holy book, the Qur'an, laid out on a low table.
Haniyeh pledged to be "loyal to the homeland and its sacred places".
Abbas looked on, his face expressionless.
- AP