Hamas and Fatah squabble over appointment of new Palestinian prime minister

Fatah and Hamas clashed this Friday night over the appointment of a Mahmoud Abbas loyalist to the post of Prime Minister, called upon to reform the Palestinian Authority in the context of the possible “post-war” development of Gaza.

President Abbas on Thursday named one of his close friends, economist Mohammad Mustafa, as prime minister in an attempt, analysts say, to convince the international community of his desire to reform the Palestinian Authority.

“Widening divisions”

But on Friday the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, as well as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP, Marxist), criticized the appointment, accusing Mahmoud Abbas of being “out of touch” with reality. “The formation of a new government without national consensus will deepen intra-Palestinian divisions,” they warned in a joint statement.

The appointment of a new prime minister proves the “deep crisis within the Palestinian Authority and its disconnection from reality,” said the press release, which condemned the “gap between the authorities and the people” of Palestine.

After fratricidal clashes in June 2007, Palestinian leadership was divided between Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority, led by Fatah, which exercises limited power in the West Bank, territory occupied since 1967 by Israel, and Hamas, which holds power in the Gaza Strip. In recent months, many Palestinians have sharply criticized President Abbas for his “helplessness” in the face of Israeli ground and air operations in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

“The real denouement”

Late Friday, Fatah responded to Hamas, blaming the Islamist movement, saying it “caused the return of the Israeli occupation of Gaza” by “taking the October 7 adventure” that led to a “disaster” (nakba, in Arabic). even more horrific and violent than the events of 1948, a reference to the displacement and expulsion of approximately 760,000 Palestinians from their lands during the creation of Israel.

“The real disconnect from reality and from the Palestinian people is the leadership of Hamas, which still does not understand the scale of the catastrophe our people are experiencing,” Fatah added, accusing Hamas of not “consulting” with other Palestinian leaders before the attack to Israel.

Mohammed Mustafa’s appointment, which follows the resignation of Mohammed Shtayyeh’s government last month, comes amid calls from regional and Western powers for reform of the Palestinian Authority so it can become a “authoritative” player in governing the Gaza Strip after the war and ultimately lead a future Palestinian state. .

But the role of the Palestinian Authority after the war is still uncertain due to its limited influence in Gaza and the refusal, in particular, of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to envision a future Palestinian state. In the letter in which he accepted his mission to President Abbas, Mohammad Mustafa stated that he was “aware of the critical phase that the Palestinian cause is going through” and insisted on the need to create a Palestinian state uniting the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.