RAMALLAH, March 25: Palestinian Authority chief Mahmud Abbas said on Saturday he would supervise the new Hamas-led government closely as its sole Christian member resigned before it had even taken power.

Mr Abbas said he would not block parliamentary approval of the new line-up dominated by the militant group, despite misgivings about its programme. He approved plans for a confidence vote on Monday before a formal swearing-in on Thursday.

“The president is not going to use the prerogatives given him by the Basic Law and will allow the government to be presented to parliament,” a statement from his office said.

Mr Abbas said he wanted to ‘respect the democratic process’ following Hamas’s upset rout of his long-dominant Fatah faction in January elections and give the new government ‘the opportunity to take up its Responsibilities’.

“The choice of democracy does not mean a rejection of the legal and political commitments of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,” he said.

“The government’s programme has not taken into account the points in the letter” Mr Abbas sent to Hamas prime minister-designate Ismail Haniya last month inviting him to form a government, the statement added.

It was referring to the Palestinian leader’s insistence when he invited Hamas to form a government that it respect past agreements with Israel and the supremacy of the PLO, even though Hamas is not a member of the Palestinian umbrella group.

Mr Abbas vowed to ‘follow closely the policies of the new government and continue to take the responsibilities and use the prerogatives accorded him by the Palestinian people’.

CHRISTIAN REPRESENTATIVE QUITS: In a new blow to Hamas’s already floundering efforts not to rule alone, the sole Christian representative in the new government, tourism minister-designate Tanas Abu Eita, said he was resigning.