Hamas gives Cabinet names to Abbas

Group takes step toward assuming Palestinian political power

Ismail Haniyeh arrives Sunday for a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas.

• Election losers walk out

• Israel on high alert after siege

• Israel: Russia gives security vow

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- The Hamas leader set to become the next Palestinian prime minister showed his list of Cabinet picks Sunday to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a key step toward the militant group's assumption of political power.

At a news conference in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh said he had submitted a list of 24 people to serve as his Cabinet once he becomes prime minister.

The list includes 14 members from the West Bank and 10 from Gaza. One woman and one Christian are on the list.

Abbas said he would convoke the PLO executive committee to submit the names. The list will require approval from the Hamas-led Palestinian parliament, which would also make Haniyeh prime minister.

Hamas' surprising success in January parliamentary elections ousted the Fatah Party from power. Fatah -- Abbas' party -- had controlled Palestinian politics for decades.

Hamas had been expected to announce its entire Cabinet on Saturday and put the list up to a vote of confidence in the Palestinian Legislative Council on Monday. But the leaders said they needed to first present the slate to Abbas, who must approve the body.

Other Palestinian factions, including Abbas' once-dominant Fatah Party, had declined to join a Hamas-led government. Chief among the differences in agendas is the recognition of previous agreements, like the Oslo accords, signed in 1993 with Israel, which Hamas does not recognize.

Hamas' charter calls for Israel's destruction, and the group has steadfastly rebuffed international pressure to change its policies and to renounce violence.

Some Palestinians are thought to be reluctant to join a government led by a hard-line group regarded as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel.

At a news conference Saturday, Haniyeh said he respects the positions of some factions not to join the government.

In the January 25 elections, Hamas won 74 of 132 seats in the Palestinian parliament and can form a government without having any coalition partners.

However, Haniyeh has said Hamas wants the participation of other parties to deal with its agenda of improving the daily lives of Palestinians and keeping money flowing for salaries, infrastructure maintenance and economic development.

Earlier Saturday, Hamas announced designees -- all longtime Hamas members -- for three Cabinet spots. They were Mahmoud al-Zahar as foreign minister, Said al-Siyam as interior minister and Umar Abed al-Razek as finance minister.

Haniyeh, who also met with Abbas on Friday night, said hours of painstaking meetings have been spent with different factions in recent weeks to develop a government comprising the right people in the right jobs with a common goal.

"We have no doubt that we will succeed, and we have no doubt that we will succeed in carrying our responsibility and managing the Palestinian affairs," he said Saturday.

CNN's Ari Bell contributed to this report.

Story Tools

Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time!

Home Page

Get up-to-the minute news from CNN

CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

Home Page

Get up-to-the minute news from CNN

CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.