The Palestinian Prime Minister

The BBC reported today that Israel's foreign minister has met the Palestinian Prime Minister. The odd thing about this is that she has met a Mr Salam Fayyad, and not Mr Ismail Haniyeh. Mr Haniyeh was chosen as the Palestinian Authority by the Palestinian parliament after elections last year. The Basic Law of the Palestinian Authority states that the parliament elects the prime minister, who remains responsible to it. While the president can sack the prime minister, any new prime minister must be appointed by the parliament. Until this happens, the sacked prime minister remains in office in a caretaker capacity.

If you want to know more about the constitutional prerogatives of various office holders in the Palestinian Authority, check out this document: What Can Abu Mazin Do?