Palestinian government to be sworn in after vote

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - A unity government formed by rival Hamas and Fatah groups to halt deadly Palestinian violence will be sworn in on Saturday after gaining parliamentary approval, a Hamas politician said.

"The government will win an easy vote of confidence," Salah al-Bardaweel, spokesman of Hamas's parliamentary bloc, told Reuters on Friday. He said the factions taking part in the coalition could easily outvote any disaffected deputies.

Parliament is due to convene at 11 a.m. (9 a.m. British time) in Gaza City to hear a speech by President Mahmoud Abbas, whose secular Fatah faction has joined its Islamist opponents in a government led by outgoing Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.

Haniyeh will present his new cabinet line-up and read a policy speech before a debate and a confidence vote. Ministers will then be sworn in at Abbas's office, Bardaweel said.

There is no guarantee that the new cabinet, born after weeks of wrangling interspersed with street clashes, will be able to persuade foreign powers to lift crippling year-old restrictions on direct aid to the Palestinian Authority.

But there have been signs of Western flexibility.

A U.S. official said on Friday that Washington would leave the door open to contacts with Palestinian Finance Minister-designate Salam Fayyad, who is not from Hamas, though it would not deal with him in his official capacity.

France has invited new Palestinian Foreign Minister Ziad Abu Amr to visit Paris, and European diplomats said Britain planned to allow diplomatic contacts with non-Hamas ministers.  Continued...