The political future is still a little more unclear for Palestine. The Palestinian Authority government, which sits in the occupied West Bank, officially submitted its resignation to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday.
“I presented the resignation of the government to Mr. President on February 20 and I submit it today in writing,” declared Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh in Ramallah, specifying that this decision came in particular “in light of recent developments linked to the aggression against Gaza. In this context, the Palestinians need “new political measures”, he insisted.
The political crisis, which has affected the Palestinian territories for years, has been further accentuated with the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered following the bloody attack on the Hebrew territory on October 7.
A desired “reform”
Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been ruled by Hamas – which seized power by force -, while the West Bank – territory occupied since 1967 by Israel – is run by the Palestinian Authority, of which Mahmoud Abbas is the president since 2005.
But many Palestinians have criticized the 88-year-old president for his “helplessness” in the face of Israeli raids in the Gaza Strip and the rise in violence in the West Bank.
The countries of the region, the West and opponents of Mahmoud Abbas are pleading for a reformed Palestinian Authority which would ultimately be in charge of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, under the banner of an independent Palestinian state. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant proposed in January a plan for the future under which Gaza would no longer be controlled by Hamas but ultimately governed by “Palestinian entities” and not an Israeli administration.
In an interview last week with AFP, opponent Nasser al-Kidwa, nephew of the late Yasser Arafat, called for an “amicable divorce” with Mahmoud Abbas and for a new unity of Palestinian political leadership, including some members of Hamas.