June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a new cabinet that excludes Hamas, a move judged by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to be an ``opportunity'' for resuming peace talks stalled for more than a year.
Abbas and newly named Prime Minister Salam Fayyad swore in 11 ministers in a ceremony broadcast live from the West Bank town of Ramallah. Hamas, deemed terrorists by the European Union and U.S., took over the Gaza Strip last week, leaving Abbas's Fatah party in charge of the West Bank. The unity government collapsed.
``The Palestinian Authority has changed, and we are going to do everything we can to take advantage of the opportunity,'' Olmert told reporters today as he left for talks with U.S. President George W. Bush. ``A Palestinian government that does not include Hamas can be a partner.''
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians stalled after Hamas, sworn to Israel's destruction, won elections in March 2006. International aid was cut off and Hamas and Fatah gunmen often clashed on the streets of Gaza in a fight for power. More than 130 people died last week in Gaza street battles, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Abbas's new cabinet includes only one Fatah member, Interior Minister Abdel Razaq al-Yahya, who will be responsible for security forces. All the other posts went to independent lawmakers and include two women and two Christians. A further three ministers will be named later on.
Fayyad, who will also serve as finance and foreign minister, held the treasury position in previous cabinets. An independent lawmaker, he is a former World Bank and International Monetary Fund official. He was born in 1952. After the swearing-in ceremony he said his biggest priority was to restore security.
New Government
What the Palestinians need ``is not a new government but to reestablish dialogue between Fatah and Hamas,'' said Basem Ezbidi, a professor of political science at the West Bank's Birzeit University.
What ``the government announced today is an act of convenience,'' Ezbidi said by phone. ``It doesn't have any real chance to function.''
Abbas has enjoyed continued U.S. support and an aide to the Palestinian president said the U.S. may resume aid, curtailed when Hamas won elections last March, once the new Palestinian cabinet is in place. Abbas today said his top priority was getting that aid restored.
Abbas today outlawed Hamas's police force and militias, who he said carried out an ``armed rebellion.'' Ismael Hania, the Hamas prime minister in Gaza, has refused to recognize Abbas's right to dissolve the government.
Israeli Territory
In Gaza, food prices escalated, with residents joining long queues to buy supplies. Dor Energy in Israel Ltd. halted gasoline supplies to Gaza today, although it will continue to provide fuel to the seaside strip's power plant. In New York before a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Olmert pledged to continue to supply Gaza with electricity.
The West Bank's 2.5 million residents are separated from the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza by 45 kilometers (28 miles) of Israeli territory.
Hundreds of Palestinians gathered at the Erez crossing point between Gaza and Israel today, seeking to leave the Palestinian territory, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said by phone, speaking on condition of anonymity. A ``small'' number are being allowed through, he added.
Hamas gunmen installed checkpoints about 200 meters from the crossing and check every car for members of the Fatah party, a secular and nationalist movement. Hamas is urging residents to stay, pledging safety, security and a territory ``clean of corruption.''
Ehud Barak, Israel's new defense minister, plans to attack the Gaza Strip within the next several weeks to destroy Hamas's military assets, the London-based Sunday Times reported, citing military officials it didn't name.
The attack may be precipitated by a resumption of rocket attacks on Israel or by suicide bombings, the newspaper said. Israel may send 20,000 troops into Gaza to face an estimated 12,000 Hamas militants, the newspaper said.
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