Palestinian Authority Prime Minister and Government Resign Amid Pressure for Reform
In a surprising turn of events, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh and his government have tendered their resignations, citing the need for reform and improvement in governance. The announcement was made by Shtayyeh himself on Monday, as he took to Facebook to inform the public.
“I would like to inform the honorable council and our great people that I placed the government’s resignation at the disposal of Mr. President (Mahmoud Abbas), last Tuesday, and today I submit it in writing,” Shtayyeh wrote.
The decision to resign comes as the Palestinian Authority faces mounting pressure from the United States to address issues of corruption and enhance its governance in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. For years, US politicians and Palestinians themselves have criticized the PA for its alleged corruption.
Established in the mid-1990s as an interim government until Palestinian independence, the PA is headquartered in Ramallah, a city in the occupied West Bank. It exercises nominal self-rule in certain parts of the territory. However, its administrative control over Gaza was relinquished in 2007 after Hamas emerged victorious in the 2006 legislative elections and expelled Fatah, the dominant political party, from the strip. Israel has since rejected the idea of the PA returning to Gaza and dismissed the notion of a Palestinian state in the territories.
Contrary to Israel’s stance, the United States favors a reformed PA that would govern both the West Bank and Gaza as part of a future independent state. However, Prime Minister Shtayyeh expressed doubts about the current US administration’s political will to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Shtayyeh, who assumed office as prime minister in 2019, emphasized the importance of the United States in finding a solution to the conflict. “There can be no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without the United States,” he stated in an interview with CNN in October. However, he also noted that the current administration lacks the political will to bring an end to the conflict, suggesting that they are merely managing it.
The Palestinian Authority’s unpopularity among Palestinians themselves is another factor contributing to the government’s resignation. Many Palestinians view the PA as ineffective in providing security against Israeli incursions in the West Bank. A recent survey conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research revealed that over 60% of Palestinians desire the dissolution of the PA. Furthermore, support for President Abbas, who has held his position since 2005, has plummeted. According to the poll, 92% of respondents in the West Bank want him to step down.
The establishment of the prime minister’s post in the PA in 2003 was a response to calls for reform from the US, the European Union, and Israel following the Second Palestinian Intifada. This marked a significant step towards power-sharing by then-President Yasser Arafat since the establishment of the PA. Abbas, who was named prime minister by Arafat at the time, assumed the presidency after Arafat’s death in 2004.
As the Palestinian Authority faces internal and external pressures for reform, the resignation of Prime Minister Shtayyeh and his government marks a critical juncture in their political landscape. The future of Palestinian governance remains uncertain, but it is clear that change is on the horizon.