Xinhua
April 19, 2010 - 12:00am
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-04/19/c_13258639.htm


Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad may reshuffle his government which holds sway in the West Bank, a government source said on Monday.

A member of the government told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that there were discussions between President Mahmoud Abbas' office and the government to conduct the reshuffle.

Earlier in the day, pan-Arab al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper reported that the differences focus on the interior ministry, as members of Abbas's Fatah party wants someone from the security establishment to hold that portfolio.

Meanwhile, the report said Mohamed Ishtayya, the minister of public works, who is a member of Fatah Central Committee, has resigned in preparation to take a key post at Abbas's office that is vacant after Abbas fired his office's chief for corruption charges.

But Ghassan Al-Khatib, a spokesman for the government, said that Ishtayya has not yet resigned "though he informed Fayyad that he would like to quit to have more time to carry his duties as a Central Committee member."

Fayyad's government was formed in June 2007 when Islamic Hamas movement routed pro-Abbas forces and seized control of Gaza.

Fayyad, a western-educated economist, is not a member of Fatah. Last year, Fayyad reshuffled his administration, adding more Fatah members to it.




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