RAMALA/Xinhua
The new Palestinian government led by Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa took the oath of office this Sunday in the West Bank.
The new Government is made up of 23 ministerial positions, including at least six ministers from the Gaza Strip. Mustafa will also take over as foreign minister from veteran diplomat Riyad al-Maliki.
During the inauguration ceremony in front of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Mustafa promised that his new Government will serve all Palestinians and emphasized that the Government’s political references are the Palestine Liberation Organization and both its political program and its commitments. international, as ordered in the letter of assignment presented by Abbas.
In a meeting with the new Government after the ceremony, Abbas reaffirmed that coordination work is underway with Arab parties and the international community to stop the conflict in Gaza.
«Our political objective is to achieve freedom, independence and liberation from (Israeli) occupation. We will work with relevant Arab and international community parties to obtain full membership in the United Nations,” the official WAFA news agency quoted the president as saying.
On March 14, Abbas tasked Mustafa, head of the Palestinian Investment Fund and Abbas’s long-time economic advisor, with forming the 19th Government, WAFA reported.
Mustafa’s appointment came after the Palestinian government resigned in the face of challenging circumstances amid developments in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem, and growing pressure on Abbas to reform the Palestinian Authority and initiate the establishment of a framework politician capable of governing a future Palestinian State after the conflict in Gaza.
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