This resignation comes “in view of developments related to the aggression against Gaza” and the “escalation” of violence in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian prime minister said.
Published on February 26, 2024 11:05 am Updated on February 26, 2024 11:15 am
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Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh and Hala Abou Hassira, Palestinian Ambassador to France, on the steps of the Elysee Palace in Paris, November 9, 2023. (XOSE BOUZAS / HANS LUCAS / AFP)
“I submitted the government's resignation to Mr. President on February 20 and am submitting it in writing today.” In a solemn statement on Monday, February 26, Mohammed Shtayyeh, Palestinian Prime Minister, submitted his resignation and that of his government to President Mahmoud Abbas a. He has been in office since spring 2019.
The Palestinian head of state did not immediately respond to this announcement by the Shtayyeh government, which, according to her, comes “in light of developments related to the aggression against Gaza” and the “escalation” of violence in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7th.
In recent months, many Palestinians have criticized 88-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas for his “helplessness” in the face of Israeli raids in the Gaza Strip or even called for his resignation. “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, said Mohammed Shtayyeh.
An Israeli plan without a Palestinian state
The Shtayyeh government's resignation comes before a meeting of Palestinian factions in Moscow and as countries in the region, Western states and opponents of Mahmoud Abbas argue for a reformed Palestinian Authority, ultimately responsible for the West Bank and Gaza, under the banner of an independent one Palestinian condition.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week proposed his first “post-war” plan, which includes maintaining Israeli “security control” in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, a possible possibility. Authority and Hamas rejected by the Palestinians. The plan, which does not call for the creation of a Palestinian state, was criticized by the United States, Israel's first ally. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected any “reoccupation” of the Gaza Strip, from which the Israeli army withdrew in 2005.