The Palestinian Authority's prime minister announced his government's resignation on Monday, a move seen by many as the first step in a reform process that the United States has called for as part of its latest ambitious plans to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But it will do little to address the agency's long-standing lack of legitimacy among its own people and to improve its strained relations with Israel. Both points pose major obstacles to Washington's plans for the agency that governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank to govern the postwar Gaza Strip before statehood is declared, if that ever happens.
This assumes the war in Gaza ends with the defeat of the militant group Hamas, an Israeli and American target, nearly five months into the grueling war that has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians and brought the territory to the brink of collapse , hard to reach seems famine
Here's a look at the government shakeup and what it means for the war between Israel and Hamas.
What is the Palestinian Authority?
The Palestinian Authority was established in the 1990s through interim peace agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, led at the time by Yasser Arafat.
It was granted limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip before Palestinians hoped to create a full state in both areas and in East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.
But after several rounds of peace talks, the parties failed to reach a final agreement. Mahmoud Abbas was elected president of the authority in 2005, months after Arafat's death. The following year, Hamas won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, triggering an international boycott of the authority.
A power struggle between Abbas's secular Fatah party and Hamas turned violent in the summer of 2007, when Hamas seized power in Gaza after a week of street fighting. This limited Abbas's authority to parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Abbas recognizes the existence of Israel, rejects armed struggle and supports a two-state solution. Its security forces have worked with the Israeli military to combat Hamas and other armed groups, and its government has worked with Israel to facilitate the issuance of work permits, medical travel and other civil matters.
WHAT DOES WITHDRAWAL MEAN?
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced his resignation, saying new regulations were needed to address “the new reality in the Gaza Strip.”
Abbas accepted Shtayyeh's resignation and is expected to replace him with Mohammad Mustafa, a U.S.-trained economist who held senior positions at the World Bank and currently heads the Palestinian Investment Fund. From 2013 to 2015 he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs.
The appointment of Mustafa, a political independent rather than a Fatah loyalist like Shtayyeh, would likely be welcomed by the United States, Israel and other countries.
Mustafa has no political base of his own and the 88-year-old Abbas will continue to have the final say on all major measures. Still, the appointment would project an image of a reformed and professional Palestinian Authority that can manage Gaza, which is important to the United States.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said it was up to Palestinians to choose their leaders, but the United States welcomed any steps to “reform and revitalize” the Palestinian Authority.
“We believe these steps are positive. “We believe they represent an important step toward achieving a unified Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.”
What do Palestinians think of the authority?
Abbas's popularity has plummeted in recent years and polls consistently show that a large majority of Palestinians want him to step down. The authority's security cooperation with Israel is extremely unpopular, which is why many Palestinians view the institution as a contractor for the occupation.
Both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have persecuted dissent in the areas they control, violently suppressing protests and imprisoning and torturing critics. Abbas' term expired in 2009, but he refused to hold elections, which he blames in part on Israeli restrictions.
Hamas, whose popularity has surged during this and previous rounds of violence, would likely do well in any free vote.
But by far the most popular Palestinian leader is Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison after a 2004 terrorism conviction.
Hamas has demanded his release in return for some of the hostages it captured in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war, but Israel refused.
Hamas has called on all Palestinian factions to form an interim government to prepare for elections. But Israel, the United States and other Western countries are likely to boycott any Palestinian organization that includes the armed group they consider a terrorist organization.
Does Israel support the Palestinian Authority?
Israel prefers the Palestinian Authority to Hamas. But although they cooperate on security issues, Israel accuses the institution of inciting terrorism, and the organization in turn accuses Israel of apartheid and genocide.
Israeli criticism focuses on the authority's provision of financial aid to the families of Palestinian prisoners and Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, including militants who have killed Israelis. Israel says these payments promote terrorism. The Palestinian Authority describes them as social benefits for victims of the occupation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Palestinian Authority should have no role in post-war Gaza. It says Israel will maintain security control of the area indefinitely while local Palestinian leaders manage civil affairs. Netanyahu's government rejects the formation of a Palestinian state.
The United States has proposed working toward a broader postwar agreement in which Saudi Arabia would recognize Israel and work with other Arab states and a revitalized Palestinian Authority to rebuild and govern Gaza, all in exchange for a credible path to forming one Palestinian state.
The reform of the institution represents a small part of this project, which is not yet supported by the Israeli government.
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Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.