Designated Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa on Thursday presented Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas with a plan for his new government and the list of his proposed ministers. Abbas authorized the establishment of the new cabinet which will be sworn in on Sunday.
The new government's plan includes development of a program to provide extensive and immediate humanitarian assistance to the residents of Gaza, rehabilitation of the Strip and efforts to stabilize the PA's economy which is in dire-straights.
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Mohammad Mustafa presents his new government and its plans to PA President Mahmoud Abbas
The plan also includes institutional reforms, reorganization of the PA's institutions, combatting corruption, improving services and a digital transformation.
In the plan there is emphasis on matters of the rule of law, a revamp of the financial sector and empowering the court system as well as an increase to public security, national security and public freedoms.
Mustafa, an ally to President Mahmoud Abbas and a leading business figure, was appointed premier this month with a mandate to help reform the Palestinian Authority.
He was also assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of Gaza, which has been shattered by more than five months of war, while he performs double-duty as foreign minister, replacing Riyad al-Maliki who had served in the position since 2009.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken with PA President Mahmoud Abbas
(Photo: Jaafar Ashtikyeh / Reuters )
Abbas, who as president remains by far the most powerful figure in the PA, appointed the new government in a demonstration of willingness to meet international demands for change in the administration.
- He approved Mustafa's cabinet with financial expert Omar al- Bitar as finance minister, and Muhamad al Amour, who served as the president of the Palestinian Businessmen Association, as economy minister, but kept Ziad Hab al-Reeh, former chief of the PA's internal intelligence agency, as interior minister, WAFA said.
The new cabinet will also include a state minister for "relief affairs".
Mustafa said in a cabinet statement addressed to Abbas that the first national priority is an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the enclave, in addition to allowing humanitarian aid to enter in large quantities and reaching all areas, WAFA reported.
"In order to enable the launch of the recovery process and preparation for reconstruction, stop the aggression and settlement activities, and curb settlers' terrorism in the West Bank," Mustafa added.
The PA, controlled by Abbas' Fatah political faction, has long had a strained relationship with Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs Gaza, and the two factions fought a brief war before Fatah was expelled from the territory in 2007.
However, it has repeatedly condemned the Israeli invasion of the Strip following the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct.7, and has insisted it must play a role in running Gaza after the war.