The newly appointed Palestinian prime minister, respected academic Rami Hamdallah, today said he will strive to continue the work of his predecessor and that he is ready to stand aside for a Fatah-Hamas unity government.
A day after being hand-picked by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, Hamdallah's appointment was hailed by the United States welcomed by Israelis who described him as a moderate pragmatist.
Speaking to the official Voice of Palestine radio, the British-educated independent said he expected to be in office until mid-August, when a unity government is due to be created.
"The new government will be a continuation of the last government, most of the ministers will continue to serve in their positions," he said, adding his cabinet was "part of the reconciliation efforts".
"I hope that by August 14, president Abbas will form a new government according to the agreement between Hamas and Fatah."
News of the nomination was made public late yesterday on the last day of a deadline to find a successor to Salam Fayyad, who resigned in mid-April following months of tension with Abbas.
"President Abbas has asked me to form a new government, and I have accepted," Hamdallah told AFP.
Under Palestinian law, he now has an initial three weeks to form a government, which can then be extended for another two if necessary.
Hamdallah, considered close to Abbas's ruling Fatah faction, is the head of Al-Najah University and secretary general of the Central Election Commission.
The 54-year-old was born in Anabta village near the northern town of Tulkarem and has a doctorate in applied linguistics from Lancaster University in England.
His appointment is seen as an interim measure until Abbas can piece together a long-promised unity government as laid out in a 2011 agreement between Fatah and its political rival, the Islamist Hamas movement.
At a meeting in Cairo on May 14, Fatah, which dominates the Ramallah-based government, and Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, agreed on a three-month deadline for establishing a unity government and setting an elections date.
Under the deal, the two sides were to have set up an interim cabinet of technocrats to prepare for elections, before establishing a unity government.
But the deal stalled over persistent in-fighting over the make-up of the caretaker cabinet.
