Middle East Monitor / July 1, 2021
Former Palestinian Authority (PA)’s Prime Minister and Financial Minister Salam Fayyad yesterday concluded a three-day visit to Gaza during which he hinted he may be able to form new national unity government, Al-Quds al-Arabi reported.
In 2003, Fayyad was ousted from the Finance Ministry, but following the coup against Hamas, which won the parliamentary elections in 2006 he was appointed by President Mahmoud Abbas as prime minister.
He was widely known for his position against Hamas and the Palestinian resistance as his government cut the salaries of thousands of public sector employees in Gaza, which is ruled by the resistance movement, and violently cracked down on its supporters in the occupied West Bank.
He was, however, allowed to enter Gaza and visit the house of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, and hold a number of unofficial meetings. He also visited the Rafah Crossing.
Al-Quds al-Arabi reported that Fayyad is working to end the internal Palestinian division and propose himself as a potential head of a new national unity government.
