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Dec. 2, 2011 / 5:46 PM

Fayyad: No plans to run for president

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad attends the inauguration of a new wing in the Al Oma School in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Dahiat al-Barid, on the Palestinian side of the separation wall in the West Bank, November 2, 2010. Fayyad cancelled a visit to another school in East Jerusalem after Israel issued a warrant banning PA events in the Jerusalem Municipality. Prime Minister Fayyad declared that the Jerusalem suburbs will one day be part of the eternal Palestinian capital. The PA has sponsored the renovation of 15 educational institutions in East Jerusalem. UPI/Debbie Hill

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad attends the inauguration of a new wing in the Al Oma School in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Dahiat al-Barid, on the Palestinian side of the separation wall in the West Bank, November 2, 2010. Fayyad cancelled a visit to another school in East Jerusalem after Israel issued a warrant banning PA events in the Jerusalem Municipality. Prime Minister Fayyad declared that the Jerusalem suburbs will one day be part of the eternal Palestinian capital. The PA has sponsored the renovation of 15 educational institutions in East Jerusalem. UPI/Debbie Hill | License Photo

TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said he is not interested in leading a Fatah-Hamas unity government and has no plans to run for president.

Fayyad, in an interview with Haaretz, said he will be ready to help a new government get situated but then plans to step aside. He announced his intention to step down after Hamas objected to his remaining in the post.

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Fayyad was selected as prime minister in 2007 by President Mahmoud Abbas.

"I don't intend to run for the presidency or anything else for that matter," Fayyad told Haaretz. "I cannot accept being an obstacle, never was and never will be. ... I made a very explicit call on the factions ... to go ahead and agree on a new prime minister."

A survey by a research institute in Ramallah said 57 percent of Palestinians want Fayyad to serve as head of the unity government. He is even popular among some Hamas supporters, with 20 percent saying they would like to see him as prime minister.

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