The labours of Fayyad

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The labours of Fayyad
Jul 5th 2007 | RAMALLAH
From The Economist print edition

The Palestinians' prime minister has a last chance to save the day
Reuters
HE HAS always been a restive type, but now Salam Fayyad's words come in agitated, freewheeling floods, as if he has drunk about 15 cups of coffee. Perhaps he has. Two weeks into his new job, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA) seems acutely aware of the political and moral tightrope he is walking, and that he may have mere days to rescue the vision of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank from oblivion.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, fired the coalition government led by Hamas and appointed Mr Fayyad after the Islamist party's militias took control of Gaza last month in a showdown with forces loyal to Mr Abbas's Fatah. The last time Mr Abbas was Mr Fayyad's direct boss was in 2003, when they were prime minister and finance minister under Yasser Arafat's presidency.

Then as now, Israel had been withholding tax revenues that it collects on the PA's behalf, and foreign donors were threatening to cut off funds. Then as now, Fatah grandees grumbled that Mr Fayyad had been imposed by America. Today his reputation precedes him: Israel has agreed to start restoring some $560m in arrears since Hamas won power in elections 18 months ago, and the donors have lifted a boycott on the PA.

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http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9441660


West Bank militants are calling for his head too.