Outgoing Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya, of the Hamas movement, will remain at the head of a new national unity government, president Mahmud Abbas confirmed on Wednesday. The prime minister "will be designated in accordance with the wishes of the parliamentary majority, which nominated Ismail Haniya as the candidate. This is not a secret," Abbas told reporters at a news conference in Ramallah.
"I can't yet say when I will formally task him with doing so, but I hope that the (new) government will be formed soon, God willing," he said, according to AFP. Al Arabiya TV reported Wednesday that Egypt and Jordan had reservations about the Haniya's designation.
The 43-year-old Haniya will have five weeks to form a new government once he is officially charged with doing so.
