The Palestinian Authority government submitted its resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, at a time when behind-the-scenes negotiations are intensifying to reform Palestinian political leadership in the context of “post-war” Gaza.
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“I submitted the government’s resignation to Mr. President on February 20 and am handing it over in writing today,” said Mohammed Shtayyeh, head of the Palestinian government since spring 2019, ceremoniously in Ramallah on Monday morning.
President Mahmoud Abbas did not immediately respond to this announcement by the Shtayyeh government, which they said comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In recent months, many Palestinians have criticized 88-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, last elected in 2005, for his “helplessness” in the face of Israeli crackdowns in the Gaza Strip.
“The next step requires new governmental and political measures that take into account the new reality in Gaza (…), the urgent need for an inter-Palestinian consensus” and the creation of a Palestinian state with authority over the West Bank and Gaza, Mr. Shtayyeh said.
Since the fratricidal clashes in June 2007, the Palestinian leadership has been divided: Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited power in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, and Hamas control the Gaza Strip.
For Palestinian analyst Ghassan Khatib, the resignation of the Shtayyeh government is not a gesture of defiance towards Mahmoud Abbas, but rather an opportunity for the Palestinian Authority to show that it is ready to embark on the path of post-war reforms in Gaza.
“Let him go home.”
Arab countries including Qatar, Western powers and opponents of Mahmoud Abbas are calling for a reformed Palestinian Authority that would ultimately be responsible for the West Bank and Gaza Strip under the banner of an independent Palestinian state.
With the resignation of the Shtayyeh government, “Mahmoud Abbas wants to show the mediator that he is also prepared to take this path,” emphasizes Mr. Khatib, specifying that this new Palestinian leadership would include elements of the Palestinian Authority, but also Hamas. .
“If Abbas and Hamas reach an agreement, it would be a new phase in Palestinian politics. This would be significant because the two camps have tried to get closer many times without ever succeeding,” Mr Khatib told AFP.
“But there is still a big chance that everything will fail, because there are still many unanswered questions, such as the composition of this technocratic government and the extent of Hamas' responsibility in Gaza,” he added.
For Khalil Shikaki, director of the Palestinian Center for Politics and Opinion Research (PCPSR), an independent institute in Ramallah, the resignation presented on Monday by the Shtayyeh government is only cosmetic and part of an attempt by Mahmoud Abbas to make people believe in a wish to allow for reform.
“Abbas wants to show the world that he is ready to make changes (…), but the only real reform would be for him to return home,” Mr. Shikaki underlines, emphasizing that whoever takes over the Shtayyeh government , “will be forced to do so.” “Be loyal” to the Palestinian president because he acts “like a one-man show.”
Violence under Abbas
Since October 7, “Abbas has failed to protect his people in the occupied West Bank and has not lifted a finger for Gaza.” And he wants to be there the day after, but has done nothing since the war began. If you think I'm tough, know that the majority of Palestinians are even tougher than me,” he added.
The war was sparked on October 7 by an unprecedented attack in Israel by Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza that killed at least 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a massive military offensive in Gaza that has claimed 29,692 lives in Gaza since October 7, the vast majority of them civilians, according to the latest Health Ministry report.
Contradicting recent talks about “post-war” Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a plan that calls for maintaining Israel’s “security control,” rejects the possibility of a Palestinian state and does not envisage a political role for the Palestinian Authority or Hamas.