Palestine – Yesterday, Sunday, the new Palestinian government headed by Muhammad Mustafa was sworn in in Ramallah before President Mahmoud Abbas, succeeding the resigned government headed by Muhammad Shtayyeh.
On March 14, Abbas appointed Mustafa to form the 19th government in the country’s history, succeeding Shtayyeh, who submitted the resignation of his government last February, and it turned into a caretaker government.
The formation of the new government coincides with the administration of US President Joe Biden’s talk about the necessity of “reactivating” the Palestinian Authority, in the hope that it will assume responsibility for Gaza after the end of the Israeli war on the Strip, which Tel Aviv rejects.
Its formation also comes in light of the continuing Palestinian division at the political and geographical levels since the summer of 2007, and the failure of many local, regional and international attempts to achieve national reconciliation, especially between the Hamas and Fatah movements led by Abbas.
In his speech after taking the oath, Mustafa said that his government “will serve all Palestinians, and that its political reference is the PLO, its political program, its international commitments, and the mandate letter directed by President Mahmoud Abbas to the government,” according to what was reported by the official Wafa news agency.
After taking the oath, the Palestinian President chaired a meeting of the new government, in which he said that the tasks of the new government “include the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.”
He explained that its tasks also include “unifying institutions between the governorates of the country, maximizing humanitarian relief efforts in the Gaza Strip, reconstruction in Gaza and the West Bank, and reviving the Palestinian economy.”
Abbas said, “The government must prepare to hold legislative and presidential elections in all governorates of the country, especially East Jerusalem.”
The formation of the new government coincides with a devastating Israeli war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, which left tens of thousands of civilian casualties, most of them children and women, and massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly, according to Palestinian and UN data.
Israel continues the war despite the issuance of a resolution by the UN Security Council, on Monday, demanding an immediate ceasefire during the month of Ramadan, and also despite its appearance for the first time in its history before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing crimes of “genocide.”
During his speech, the Palestinian President reaffirmed “all the provisions that came in the letter of appointment of this 19-member government, which was formed as a government of technocrats, of national competencies, whose mission includes the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.”
He said, “The government has full powers to carry out its tasks in accordance with the law, within a framework of governance, transparency and accountability, and to ensure the dignity and steadfastness of citizens.”
He pointed out that increasing the performance of services provided in all sectors “requires enabling it (the new government) to perform its tasks by releasing all seized funds (with Israel), lifting the stranglehold on the Palestinian economy from the occupation forces, providing Arab and international funding for its budget and relief and reform programs, and restoring Reconstruction and economic recovery.”
He added that at the top of the government’s tasks are “broad reforms, unifying institutions between the country’s governorates, maximizing humanitarian relief efforts in the Gaza Strip (…) and restoring the educational process, health services, water, electricity, and others, leading to reconstruction and reviving the economy throughout the country.”
He continued: “We emphasize the government’s broad tasks and powers, and the full powers it assumes in accordance with the law. We point out that the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, remains the body responsible for Palestinian political affairs, negotiations, and reconciliation.”
Several Palestinian factions had previously denounced Abbas’ assignment of Muhammad Mustafa to form a new government without national consensus, in a move they considered “a reinforcement of the policy of exclusivity and deepening division,” questioning the feasibility of replacing one government with another and a prime minister with another “from the same political environment.”
The factions of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front, and the National Initiative said in a joint statement that this comes “at a pivotal historical moment (the aggression on Gaza) in which our people and their national cause are in dire need of consensus and unity, and the formation of a unified national leadership, preparing to hold free, democratic elections with the participation of All components of the Palestinian people.”
The new Palestinian Prime Minister is not a member of the Fatah movement, which is led by President Abbas. He is classified as an “independent” member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, and has held a number of positions in previous governments, in addition to heading the Palestine Investment Fund, one of the institutions of the PLO since 2015.
Anatolia
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2024-04-02 03:34:34