Hamas and other groups resent the appointment of a new Palestinian prime minister

“Taking isolated decisions and taking formal actions without substance, such as forming a new government without national consensus, is reinforcing the politics of exclusion and deepening divisions,” the statement said.

Such moves show “a huge disconnect between the (Palestinian) self-government and the people, their concerns and aspirations,” it claimed.

The statement came a day following Mr Abbas appointed Mohammed Mustafa Mohamed Mustafa, his longtime economic adviser, as prime minister and tasked him with forming a new government.

Other signatories included Islamic Jihad, Gaza’s second-largest militant group, the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party seeking to wedge between Abbas’s Fatah movement and Hamas.

Mustafa replaces Mohammed Shtayyeh, who resigned less than three weeks ago, citing the need for change following an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas sparked a war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

In a letter to Mr Abbas published on Friday, Mr Mustafa agreed to the appointment and said he “understands […] the severity of the dire circumstances Palestinians are living through.”

Hamas’ unprecedented October 7 attack in Israel claimed the lives of regarding 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to official figures.

Hamas also took regarding 250 hostages, of which Israel knows regarding 130 are still in the Gaza Strip, including 31 dead hostages.

After vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has launched a massive military offensive that has killed at least 31,490 people, mostly women and children, in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s Health Ministry.

Mr Mustafa, 69, must now form a new government for the Palestinian Authority, which has limited powers in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Since 2007, control of the Palestinian territories has been divided between Abbas’s Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Analysts said that Mr. Mustafa’s closeness to Mr. Abbas will limit the possibility of fundamentally reforming the Palestinian Authority.

The United States and other powers have called for a reformed Palestinian Authority to take over the Palestinian territories following the war ends.