The PLC is expected to hold a session next Monday to start discussing granting the vote of confidence to the government of Ismail Hanieh who is expected to win the majority of votes. Setting the date of the PLC meeting came after a long day yesterday when Hamas Movement rejected immediately the demand of the PLO Executive Committee to amend the program of its government, especially on recognizing the role of the PLO, as President Abbas allowed presenting the government to the PLC to get the vote of confidence to prevent any constitutional crisis. President Abbas received yesterday Dr. Aziz Dweik, PLC Speaker, and both agreed on holding a session for the PLC to grant the confidence vote to the government of Ismail Hanieh next Monday. The meeting also tackled the current conditions of the Palestinian people. President Abbas affirmed in the meeting that the PLO is the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. President Abbas briefed Dr. Dweik on the results of the meeting of the PLO Executive Committee. Palestinian informed sources said the PLO Executive Committee does not want to frustrate or to be accused by anyone that it is aiming to frustrate the government of Hamas. Therefore, it didn’t announce rejecting Hamas government but pointed out that it could not ignore the fact that Hamas ignores the PLO. President Abbas announced yesterday that the PLO Executive Committee placed important reservations on the program of the new government. He told reporters at the Presidential Headquarters in Ramallah: according to the rules, the government must be presented to the PLO Executive Committee and the Committee did discuss the list of names and the program of the new government and has important comments on it and there will be meetings for the PLC soon to present the government and its program. President Abbas stressed on the need to amend the program of the government in a manner that takes into consideration the reservations of the Committee, but he ruled out any constitutional crisis in the Palestinian political system. He said: There won't be any constitutional crisis God willing. I believe that everyone seeks to protect the public interest and that we can start and not stand at crises. President Abbas avoided engaging in the results of a possible Hamas rejection of the reservations of the Committee; he said: We don’t want to engage in hypothetical matters. The PLO is the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and no one can accept or refuse the PLO from which the PNA culminated and the PLO is the basic reference of the PNA. He added: There are basic matters that must be clear in the program of the government and I believe these could be explained later. Palestinian PM Ahmad Qurei' demanded from the new government to amend its program to include a clear text saying that the PLO is the basic reference of the PA. We don’t want to obstruct them or set obstacles in front of them but we want a unified position. The PLO is the sole fact which gains consensus in the Palestinian society and we hope that everyone would deal with the achievements of the Palestinian people. In the meantime, Yasser Abed Rabbo, PLO Executive Committee, said the Committee decided in its meeting that we cannot accept the program of Hamas and we demand that Hamas amend its program and President Abbas was commissioned to follow up this matter with Hamas. He explained: We cannot deal with the program of this government because it ignores the most important achievement of the Palestinian people which is the PLO and besides the program of Hamas government does not point out that Olmert's unilateral scheme is the main danger facing the Palestinian people.

Zakaria al-Agha, member of the PLO Executive Committee, said the Committee set three main reservations on the program of the government: the program does not mention the PLO as the political reference of the PA; the program does not mention the Basic Law of the PA; the program does not reject the Israeli unilateral plans to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The PLO Executive Committee has the right to express its reservations but the President will send the reservations to the PLC and we commissioned President Abbas to deal with the matter.

Taiseer Khaled, member of the PLO Executive Committee and Politburo member of the DFLP, demanded from the new government to amend its political program in a manner that meets with the program of the PLO. He said President Abbas will demand from Hanieh that his government respect the national consensus; it is illogical to see the PLO which is recognized by the UN and all international and regional organizations being rejected by a Hamas government. He stressed that the program of the new government must state very clearly that it rejects the unilateral program of the Israeli government.

Ismail Hanieh announced yesterday that it was agreed in principle to present his government to the PLC next Monday for the vote of confidence. In a written statement issued by his office, Hanieh said: Based on the articles in the Basic Law and in agreement with President Abbas, I will present the Palestinian government and its political and social program on the members of the PLC to get the confidence vote. With regards to the position issued by the brothers in the PLO Executive Committee, this will not affect the course of dialogue and understanding that we want to consolidate on the Palestinian arena and the political differences can be handled through cooperation. On the issue of the PLO, he said: the program of the government included all issues and we believe that the PLO is a national accomplishment of the Palestinian people and we have been calling and demanding for many years to join the PLO and reactivate it and rebuild it based on new democratic principles and our position was clear in the Cairo Agreement signed in March 2005 and the problem is not in us but in the slow measures and retreat in steps and measures along this path. Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said yesterday the decision of the PLO Executive Committee is rejected and illegal. He said the body that is authorized to look into the Palestinian government is the PLC and the PLO Executive Committee and this Committee excludes major forces and this institution does not represent everybody, and at least there are major forces like Hamas which represents more than 60% of the Palestinian street. The PLO Executive Committee did not implement what has been agreed upon in the Cairo Agreement.

In the meantime, Nabil Abu Rdeineh, the official spokesperson of President Abbas, criticized yesterday statements issued by some Hamas officials saying: There is no legitimacy for any government that does not recognize the legitimacy and reference of the PLO which possesses the Palestinian political decision.

Published at Al quds and Al Ayyam newspaper on March 23, 2006.