Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas swore in his new cabinet on Sunday and immediately outlawed the rival Hamas movement's armed wing after the bloody seizure of power in Gaza Strip.
After swearing in the new 12-member emergency cabinet led by prime minister Salam Fayyad, Abbas swiftly took aim at Hamas. "The executive force and Hamas militias are declared outside the law for having carried out an armed rebellion against Palestinian legitimacy and its institutions," according to a decree issued by Abbas.
"Anyone whose ties with these groups is proven will be punished in accordance with the laws under the state of emergency."
"We insist on organic unity, both administrative and political, of the two parts of the homeland, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank," Fayyad said moments after taking the oath of office.
Abbas issued a decree early Sunday annulling a law requiring the new government to be approved by parliament, which is dominated by Hamas.
