Hamas official: I would support Fayyad as transitional PM

Dimi Reider By Dimi Reider June 27, 2011 | Edit

Journalist Ashley Bates has been revisiting Gaza last week (she used to run the Dispatches from Gaza blog, praised by NYT’s Nick Kristof as “a model for filling gaps in news coverage.”) On this visit, Bates interviewed Dr Ahmad Yousef, who recently retired as close advisor to Ismail Hanniyeh and deputy foreign minister for the Hamas government in Gaza (she interviewed him earlier this year, for Mother Jones). He now serves as the head of the Hamas-affiliated think-tank Beit al-Hikma.

Despite the possibility of Salam Fayyad staying on as prime minister in the transitional Hamas-Fatah government being described as one of the major pitfalls awaiting the unity agreement, Youssef spends much of the time praising Fayyad as “humble,” “open minded”, someone he would feel comfortable discussing issues with, and ends up endorsing him as the best candidate to head the transitional cabinet.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/25666589[/vimeo]

Yesterday Fatah announced (in an unhelpfully matter-of-fact tone) that Fayyad is its only candidate to head the caretaker government, and if Hamas fails to agree, the current (appointed) caretaker government will remain in place. Let’s hope Yousef’s comment indicate Hamas will be able to overcome Fatah’s manners and move on with the unity project.

Dimi Reider

Dimi (Dmitry) Reider is an Israeli journalist.  His work has appeared in The New York Review of Books,  The New York Times,The Guardian, Foreign Policy, Haaretz,  Jerusalem Post, and  Index on Censorship. "Dimi's Notes" has been quoted and referenced by the following publications:

End of article module for Members

TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence.    We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies.   This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza.   We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.   Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

Make a Donation