Hamas resents the new Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority – “It will strengthen divisions”

“The appointment of a person loyal to Mahmoud Abbas as its prime minister will strengthen divisions and prove the dissociation of the Palestinian Authority from reality” Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other organizations denounced. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Prime Minister Thursday (14.03.2024) one of his close associates, economist Mohammed Mustafa, in an attempt to strengthen his weakened leadership and regain credibility. “The formation of a new government without a national consensus will worsen divisions,” Hamas warns in an announcement. Islamic Jihad and the “Marxist People’s Front for Palestine Liberation” two organizations also considered terrorist by Israel, co-sign the announcement. The appointment of the new Prime Minister proves “the deep crisis within the Palestinian Authority and its dissociation from reality”, according to the announcement that denounces “the loss between the Authority and the (Palestinian) people”. Since the fraternal conflicts began, in June 2007, the Palestinian leadership has been divided between the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas, which exercises limited power on the West Bank, occupied by Israel territory since 1967, and Hamas, which has power in the war-torn Gaza Strip. In recent months, many Palestinians criticised 88-year-old President Abbas, who was last elected in 2005, for his “incapacity” towards Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip. In a letter accepting his mission to President Abbas, Mustafa states that he is “conscious of the critical phase going through the Palestinian issue” and insists on the need for a Palestinian state that will unite Gaza and the West Bank. The role of the Palestinian Authority when the war is over remains largely unknown, due to its limited influence and the refusal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to consider the possibility of a future Palestinian state.