Palestine: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed Mohammed Mustafa, his longstanding economic advisor, as the country’s next prime minister. It comes after US pressure to restructure the Palestinian Authority as part of Washington’s post-war strategy for Gaza.
Mustafa, an economist with a US education and a political independent, will be establishing a new cabinet for the PA, which has limited authority in areas of the West Bank that are under Israeli occupation.
Abbas urged Mustafa to organize plans to reunite administration in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, spearhead changes in the government, security services, and economy, and combat corruption, according to a statement announcing the appointment on Thursday.
Mustafa takes over from the outgoing prime minister, Mohammed Shtayyeh, who resigned in February along with his administration, citing the necessity for change in light of Israel’s attack on Gaza and the rising unrest in the West Bank.
Although it still maintains some degree of autonomy in the occupied West Bank, the internationally recognized PA, which is led by the Fatah party, lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007.
Intends to reunite the administration of Palestinian territories despite encountering significant challenges, including as Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister,’s vehement resistance and an ongoing, catastrophic conflict that shows no signs of stopping.
Hamas and Fatah are anticipated to have talks this week in Moscow. Mustafa, 69, was formerly the economics minister and deputy prime minister. He has also held prominent posts at the World Bank.
Mustafa, in his Davos remark, described the October 7 attack as “unfortunate for everybody. But it’s also a symptom of a bigger problem … that the Palestinian people have been suffering for 75 years non-stop.”
“Until today, we still believe that statehood for Palestinians is the way forward, so we hope that this time around we will be able to achieve that, so that all people in the region can live in security and peace,” Mustafa added.
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