Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed his long-time economic adviser Mohammed Mustafa as the next Prime Minister in the face of US pressure to reform the Palestinian Authority as part of Washington's postwar vision for Gaza, in case Israel ceases its devastating operations that have killed over 31,000 Palestinians.
Mustafa, a US-educated economist and politically independent, will head a technocratic government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that could potentially administer Gaza ahead of eventual statehood. However, those plans face major obstacles, including strong opposition from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israel-Hamas war that is still grinding on with no end in sight.
Despite Mustafa being appointed as the next Palestinian PM in the new Cabinet, overall control would remain under the 88-year-old Abbas. “The change that the United States of America and the countries of the region want is not necessarily the change that the Palestinian citizen wants,” said Hani al-Masri, a Palestinian political analyst. “People want a real change in politics, not a change in names ... They want elections.”
The Palestinian Authority has said it will not return to Gaza on the back of an Israeli tank, and that it would only assume control of the beleaguered Gaza Strip as part of a comprehensive solution to the conflict that includes statehood.
Who is Mohammed Mustafa?
Mustafa was born in the West Bank town of Tulkarem in 1954 and earned a doctorate in business administration and economics from George Washington University. He has held senior positions at the World Bank and previously served as deputy prime minister and economy minister. He is currently the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund.
In a statement announcing the appointment, Abbas asked Mustafa to put together plans to re-unify administration in the West Bank and Gaza, lead reforms in the government, security services and economy and fight corruption. Notably, Abbas' Palestinian Authority maintained authority over Gaza, until it was overthrown by the militant group Hamas in 2007.
The Palestinian Authority was established in the 1990s through interim peace agreements and was envisioned as a stepping-stone to eventual statehood. However, the peace talks repeatedly collapsed, most recently with Netanayahu's return to power in 2009. Abbas, unlike his Hamas rivals, recognizes Israel, has renounced armed struggle and is committed to a negotiated solution that would create an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Mustafa's problems
While the US is in favour of a revitalised Palestinian Authority taking over post-war Gaza, Netanyahu argues that the PA is in no condition to do so and his administration would take over short-term control in the coastal Palestinian enclave. Israel had for long criticised the PA for payments made to the families of Palestinians who have been killed or imprisoned by Israel.
Netanyahu's coalition of right-wing parties is strongly opposed to Palestinian statehood, despite the US pushing for it. The previous prime minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, resigned along with his government last month, saying different arrangements were needed because of the “new reality in the Gaza Strip”.
According to Hani al-Masri, Mustafa would struggle to meet public demands to improve conditions in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli restrictions imposed since the start of the war have caused an economic crisis. His problems would be more in Gaza, where Abbas is deeply unpopular among Palestinians. Many view the PA as little more than a subcontractor of the occupation because it cooperates with Israel on security matters.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories to form their future state. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognised internationally and considers the entire city — including major holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims — to be its undivided capital. Israel has built scores of settlements across the West Bank, where over 500,000 Jewish settlers live in close proximity to some 3 million Palestinians.
Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but along with Egypt imposed a blockade on the territory when Hamas seized power two years later. Netanyahu has vowed to dismantle Hamas and maintain open-ended security control over Gaza in the wake of Hamas' October 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostages.
(with inputs from AP)
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