Hamas to reshuffle Gaza cabinet

Informed governmental sources have revealed that a reshuffle in the new Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip will be announced next week. The sources said the amendment shall apply to several ministries not specified yet, noting that new names will take over ministerial posts in the next government. Dr Youssef Rizqa, the dismissed advisor to  Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, confirmed the news. Rizqa refused in a press statement on Friday to divulge the next roster of ministers, saying the amendment was a regular procedure and will include ministers who have spent long periods in their posts. He asserted that the structure of the reshuffle was still under study and may be announced within weeks or after a month at the latest. The Palestinian government in Gaza had conducted a cabinet reshuffle at the beginning of 2011, which included the ministries of endowments, education, youth and sports, and the Secretariat of the Cabinet.