Amendments needed to make Abbas PM

Palestinian Liberation Organisation heavyweight Wasel Abu Yousef said in an interview with ‘Arabstoday’ that appointing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as Prime Minister to the interim government required amendments to the articles 45 and 46 of the Palestinian law. “The official and final declaration of Abbas’s government will be in February 18 in Cairo,” said Yousef. Article 45 of Palestinian law stipulates that the President selects the Prime Minister and assigns him to form the government, in addition to being entitled to remove the PM or accept his resignation, as well as ask him to hold a cabinet meeting. Article 46 stipulates that the cabinet assists the President in the performance of his duties practicing his authorities. “President Abbas will hold a meeting attended by Secretary Generals of Palestinian factions, members of the PLO Executive Committee, and members of the Central Fatah Committee, to discuss the latest developments on the Palestinian scene, in order to form a unity government that does not belong to any faction, particularly after deciding on the Prime Minister,” Yousef told ‘Arabstoday’. He indicated that “the official and final declaration of the new Palestinian government headed by Abbas will be on February 18, in Cairo, during the PLO leadership meeting, which will be attended by all Palestinian factions including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.” “The leadership of the organisation will approve the draft law of the National Palestinian Council elections, which will be according to the principle of the proportional representation. Consensus is to be reached between factions on the members of the council in the countries hosting Palestinian refugee communities, where elections cannot be held,” Abu Yousef added. The PLO chief said he expects elections to be held in August or September this year.