Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appointed a longtime senior authority official as prime minister on Thursday, defying international pressure to appoint an independent prime minister who could revitalize the hardening authority.
Mr Abbas, who is 88 and has long ruled by decree, named Mohammed Mustafa, a close economic adviser, to take over as prime minister, signing a document accusing him of forming a new government, according to Wafa, the official of the Palestinian Authority. news agency. Mr Mustafa has three weeks to do so, but may take another two weeks if necessary, according to Palestinian law.
The document delivered by Mr Abbas to Mr Mustafa said the government’s priorities should include leading efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, rebuilding what was destroyed during the war between Israel and Hamas, and the development of plans and mechanisms for the reunification of Palestinian governmental structures in the West Bank and the coastal enclave.
He also asked “to continue the reform process”.
Much of the Palestinian public views the Palestinian Authority as tainted by corruption, mismanagement and collaboration with Israel.
As president, Mr. Abbas remains firmly in charge of government. Without a functioning parliament, Mr. Abbas has long ruled by decree and wields broad influence over the judiciary and prosecutorial system. There have been no presidential elections in the Palestinian territories since 2005, nor parliamentary elections since 2006.
In late February, Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh submitted the resignation of his cabinet, citing the need for a new government that “takes into account the emerging reality in the Gaza Strip.” Mr. Shtayyeh’s government continued in a caretaker capacity.
Hamas led a deadly attack from Gaza into Israel on October 7, and Israel responded with heavy bombing and an invasion, vowing to break the group’s control of the enclave. But these events have raised difficult questions about how a post-war Gaza will be governed and rebuilt.
The Palestinian Authority has limited governmental powers in the West Bank. It lost control of Gaza to Hamas in a power struggle in 2007.
The United States has been calling for an overhaul of the widely unpopular Palestinian Authority in recent months, hoping it could eventually take over the reins of governance in Gaza after the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has ruled out any such role for the time being.
Although the Biden administration did not tell Mr. Abbas who to appoint as prime minister, it conveyed that it hoped for an independent figure who would be acceptable to ordinary Palestinians, the international community and Israel, according to Western diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity. anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
A spokeswoman for the National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, said in a statement that the Biden administration welcomed the appointment and urged “the formation of a reform cabinet as soon as possible.”
In the Palestinian Authority, the prime minister is supposed to oversee the work of ministries, but Mr. Abbas often interferes in decision-making, according to analysts.
Nasser al-Qudwa, a former foreign minister whose name has been floated as a possible prime minister, said before Mr Abbas’ selection was announced that Mr Mustafa’s appointment would not represent “any real change”.
“It would be replacing an official named Mohammed with another official named Mohammed, while Abbas continues to hold all the cards. What is the change?’ said Mr. Qudwa, a staunch opponent of Mr. Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen. “Abu Mazen wants to maintain the status quo. He wants to keep all the power in his hands.”
In addition to serving as an adviser to Mr. Abbas, Mr. Mustafa, an economist educated at George Washington University in Washington, has served as chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund, whose board of directors is appointed by the authority’s president. He was previously Minister of Economy and Deputy Prime Minister of the Authority.
For weeks, Mr. Abbas has signaled his desire to appoint Mr. Mustafa. In January, he sent Mr. Mustafa to the World Economic Forum’s annual conference in Davos, where heads of state and foreign ministers gather to discuss global affairs.
At the conference, Mr. Mustafa said he believed the Palestinian Authority could improve its governance. “We don’t want to give anyone an excuse,” he said in a wide-ranging discussion with Borge Brende, the forum’s president. “The Palestinian Authority can do better in terms of building better institutions.”
In his new position, Mr. Mustafa will likely face enormous challenges, which may include trying to rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip and improving the government’s credibility.
Some analysts, however, said judgment on a new government should be reserved until the public knows the identities of its ministers and how much power and independence they can wield.
“We shouldn’t be too quick to say it will fail,” said Ibrahim Dalalsha, director of the Horizon Center for Political Studies and Media Outreach, a political analysis group based in Ramallah, in the West Bank. “We’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.”
