Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced his resignation on Monday as the Palestinian Authority hoped to gain support for an expanded role after the Israel-Hamas war, according to Reuters.
The move comes amid growing US pressure on President Mahmoud Abbas to shake up the Palestinian Authority, as international efforts intensify to halt fighting in the Gaza Strip and begin work on the enclave’s post-war order.
However, Shtayyeh’s resignation must still be accepted by Abbas, who may ask him to stay on as caretaker until a permanent replacement is appointed. Shtayyeh’s departure marks a symbolic shift that underscores Abbas’ determination to ensure retention of authority, as international pressure mounts for a revival of efforts to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
In a statement to the cabinet, Shtayyeh declared that the next administration would have to take into account the emerging reality in Gaza, which had been devastated by nearly five months of heavy fighting.
[The next stage would] require new governmental and political arrangements that take into account the emerging reality in the Gaza Strip, the national unity talks, and the urgent need for an inter-Palestinian consensus.
No successor has been nominated, but many expect Abbas to name Mohammad Mustafa, a former World Bank official who is chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF). Mustafa has experience in rebuilding Gaza after the previous war in 2014.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited rule over parts of the West Bank but lost power in the Gaza Strip after a factional struggle with Hamas in 2007. Palestinian leaders argue that their ability to govern effectively was virtually blocked by Israeli restrictions, which included withholding tax revenues due under the Oslo accords.
The Authority has been unable to pay full public sector salaries for several months because of a dispute over the refusal of the Israeli Finance Ministry to release some of the funds.
Israel has long accused the Palestinian authorities of supporting terrorism by offering financial support to the families of militants killed by Israeli forces and allowing anti-Semitic material to be included in school textbooks. Israel has also criticised Palestinian leaders, including Abbas, for failing to condemn Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
A senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, stated:
The resignation of Shtayyeh’s government only makes sense if it comes within the context of national consensus on arrangements for the next phase.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas following the latter’s attack on southern Israel on 7 October, which killed some 1,200 people. At the same time, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza fighting so far.
