Palestinian prime minister rejects attempts to diminish Hamas' power

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- "That is a big question," the new Palestinian prime minister said, momentarily switching to English when asked whether he would recognize Israel.

Much hinges on the response.

The United States, Europe and Western donors are all threatening to cut off vital foreign aid if the militant Islamic group Hamas, which heads the new Palestinian government, does not recognize the Jewish state and renounce violence.

The government already has an empty treasury, unable to pay public workers. A loss of funds from abroad would make matters far worse.

But Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, in power just one week, dodged the question.

"Let them recognize us first and then we will determine our position afterward, God willing," Haniyeh answered, switching back to Arabic during an interview Thursday.

Haniyeh's plate is full of crises and confrontations, some external, but others domestic.

Haniyeh put Abbas on notice that he will not easily yield control of Palestinian security forces. However, Abbas, who is on a collision course with Hamas, tried to chip away Thursday at the power of the Hamas-led Cabinet.

Deepening the tension, the moderate Abbas installed a longtime ally as head of three security branches that were nominally under Hamas' control and told the Islamic group that it had to clear all foreign policy moves with him. His actions appeared aimed at convincing the international community that he, not Hamas, is in charge.

Abbas, who was elected president last year, retains wide powers. He is the head of the National Security Council, which has final say over the Palestinian security forces, and he can issue wide-ranging decrees that do not need parliamentary approval.

Abbas and Haniyeh were to meet in Gaza on Friday night.

Haniyeh said Abbas had assured him the security forces would remain under the control of the Hamas-led Cabinet. He said Hamas did not take power "on the back of a tank" but in "transparent and fair elections."

But hours later, Abbas appointed a longtime ally, Rashid Abu Shbak, to head the three security services that fall under new Interior Minister Said Siyam, in addition to agencies already under the president's control. Though Siyam would technically be Abu Shbak's boss, any dispute between the two would be resolved in the National Security Council, which Abbas heads.

Abu Shbak said he was authorized to hire and fire officers in the three security branches, and his appointment reduced Hamas' authority over the security apparatus to cutting checks for its 58,000 officers.

Abbas is likely to continue amassing power to end Western sanctions, said Khalil Shahin, a political analyst with the Palestinian Al-Ayyam newspaper.

"I predict that he will keep stripping Hamas of more of its authorities," he said.

"(Abbas) is trying with these measures to spare the Palestinian people more suffering and more sanctions."

Abbas has said he wants to resume peace talks with Israel, which has shunned the Hamas government, and Haniyeh said he would not stand in the way of those talks.

"(Abbas), as the head of the Palestinian Authority and the PLO, can move on political fronts and negotiate with whomever he wants. What is important is what will be offered to the Palestinian people," Haniyeh said, speaking in front of a green background, the color of Hamas.

Also Thursday, Israeli President Moshe Katsav tapped acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to form Israel's next government. Olmert said he would quickly put together a coalition committed to carrying out his plan to pull out of most of the West Bank, solidify Israel's hold over major settlement blocs and draw Israel's final border with the Palestinians by 2010.

Olmert has said that he preferred to carry out his plan through negotiations, but if talks do not quickly bear fruit, he will withdraw unilaterally.

Haniyeh denounced Olmert's threat to draw Israel's borders on his own, saying it will leave Israel in control of Jerusalem and other territories the Palestinians claim as part of their future state. "This will not make the Palestinian people happy," Haniyeh said.

He said there was no change in Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel, renounce violence and respect all past accords signed by the Palestinian Authority -- the three conditions Israel and the West have imposed for dealing with Hamas, which is listed as a terror group by the U.S. and European Union.

At the same time, he struck a conciliatory tone when speaking about the United States, saying, "we don't want feelings of animosity to remain in the region, not toward the U.S. administration and not toward the West."