President Mahmoud Abbas accepted the resignation of the Palestinian Authority

The decision was explained by “an urgent need for inter-Palestinian consensus” at a time when negotiations are intensifying behind the scenes to reform the Palestinian political leadership in a “post-war” environment in Gaza.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accepted the previously announced resignation of the government on Monday, February 26, as talks intensify behind the scenes to reform the Palestinian political leadership. 'Post-war' in Gaza.

“I submitted the resignation of the government to Mr. President on February 20, and today I submit it in writing,” announced Monday morning in Ramallah, the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammad Shtayeh, the head of the government since spring 2019.

In the evening, President Abbas issued a decree “accepting this resignation” while ordering Mohammed Shtayeh and his ministers to “stay in office temporarily until a new government is formed.”

“Inter-Palestinian Consensus”

“The new government and political actions for the next phase must take into account the new reality in the Gaza Strip (…), the urgent need for inter-Palestinian consensus” and the creation of a Palestinian state with authority in the West Bank and Gaza, Mohammed Shtayye declared.

Since the fratricidal clashes in June 2007, Palestinian leadership has been divided between Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited authority in the West Bank, territory occupied by Israel since 1967, and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

For Palestinian analyst Ghazan Khatib, the resignation of the Shtayeh government is not a gesture of defiance of Mahmoud Abbas, but a way for the Palestinian Authority to show that it is ready to embark on a path of reform for the post-war period in Gaza. .

An authority for the West Bank and Gaza

Arab states, including Qatar, Western powers and opponents of Mahmoud Abbas are pleading for a reformed Palestinian Authority responsible for the West Bank and Gaza 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 ready to take this path”, Ghassan Katib underlines, and this new Palestinian leadership includes elements of the Palestinian Authority but also elements of Hamas.

“If Abbas and Hamas reach an agreement, it will be a new phase in Palestinian politics. It will be significant because both camps have tried and failed to come close,” explains Ghazan Khatib.

“Helplessness” by Mahmoud Abbas

The resignation of Khalil Shigaki, director of the Palestinian Center for Political and Polling Research (PCPSR), an independent institution in Ramallah, by the Shtayyeh government on Monday was cosmetic and part of an effort by Mahmoud Abbas. For reform.

“Abbas wants to show the world that he is ready to make changes (…) but the real reform is his return home,” underscores Khalil Shigaki, who insists that whoever succeeds the Shtayeh government “will be forced.” Loyal to the Palestinian president because the latter runs “like a one-man show”.

In recent months, many Palestinians have criticized President Mahmoud Abbas, 88, who was last elected in 2005, for his “helplessness” in the face of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Against recent talk of a “post-war” in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a plan calling for Israel to maintain “security control,” rejecting the possibility of a Palestinian state and not seeking any political role. Palestinian Authority or Hamas.