Palestinian prime minister resigns as talks continue on postwar future of Gaza
Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh tendered his resignation yesterday, paving the way for a cabinet reshuffle that could lead to reforms pushed for by the US and others as they make plans for what comes after the Israel-Gaza war.
Mr Shtayyeh called for talks on a new government for the occupied West Bank after submitting his resignation to the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas.
The next cabinet is expected to be technocratic, with economist Mohammad Mustafa among the most likely candidates to replace Mr Shtayyeh.
Mr Mustafa, the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund, has held prominent positions within the World Bank and is seen as a technocrat with financial expertise.
The authority has faced pressure to reform since the war in Gaza refocused international attention on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
While the authority has not ruled Gaza since being expelled by Hamas in 2007, the US has said it envisages an independent Palestinian state, governed by a reformed Palestinian Authority, taking over the enclave in the long term.
Postwar plans were on the agenda as officials from the US, Qatar, Egypt and Israel met in Doha yesterday.
Sources told The National that the officials discussed the possibility of an interim government of Palestinian technocrats running Gaza after the war until elections can be held.
The meeting was also aimed to build on talks in Paris last week, when a framework was reached for a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.
At the International Court of Justice, on the final day of hearings on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, the Arab League strongly criticised the Israeli army’s conduct in Gaza.
“This prolonged occupation is an affront to international justice,” Abdel Al Rifai, the Arab League’s envoy to the EU, said yesterday.
“The failure to bring it to an end has led to the current horrors perpetrated against the Palestinian people, amounting to genocide.”
Officials from the US, Qatar, Egypt and Israel met in Doha yesterday to discuss an “understanding” reached in Paris last week to pause the Gaza war and the postwar mechanisms to govern the enclave.
Sources told The National the formation of an interim Palestinian government made up of non-partisan technocrats to run Gaza and the occupied West Bank would be part of the discussion.
The proposed government would be in office until elections were held in Gaza and the West Bank.
Yesterday, Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced his resignation and the resignation of his government, which rules parts of the West Bank. He said “new political measures” were needed given the changing reality in Gaza.
He said his resignation was prompted by “developments related to the aggression against the Gaza Strip and the escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem”.
Delegates in Doha are expected to discuss details of a detainees-for-hostages swap between Israel and Hamas, as well as the logistics of delivering humanitarian assistance to the enclave.
The talks, which are expected to last three days, will move to Cairo either later this week or next, sources said.
The reconstruction of Gaza and the building of a sufficient number of camps to house and care for displaced Palestinians is also expected to be discussed.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the Paris talks last week yielded an “understanding” regarding what the hostage and prisoner deal might look like.
“The United States’ position in this is clear. We would like to see this deal get done,” Mr Sullivan said. “We would like to see the hostages returned, including American hostages, and we would like to see a temporary ceasefire which will alleviate the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip, innocent civilians, women and children.
“So, we are telling everyone, including the Israeli government, that it is our firm position that every effort be exer
cised to get to this agreement.” The progress made in truce talks last week comes after what sources said was Hamas dropping its demand for a permanent ceasefire. The group is understood to have accepted a six-week pause on the condition that negotiations to reach a permanent ceasefire begin as soon as the temporary pause is in place.
Hamas is also showing flexibility on the number of high-profile Palestinian prisoners that it wants released as part of the exchange, sources said.
A week-long pause in the war in November saw Hamas release more than 100 hostages in exchange for about 200 Palestinian detainees.
It is believed that at least 30 of the 130 remaining hostages have died in captivity.
Despite the reported positives of the Paris talks, a deal is far from being agreed, although sources said Washington appears determined to have one in place before the start of Ramadan on March 10 or 11.
Hamas and Israel remain far apart on several crucial issues.
Hamas wants Israel to initially remove its forces from built-up areas as a prelude to a complete withdrawal from the coastal enclave.
Israel is insisting on an indefinite and unfettered security role in Gaza.
Israel also wants to maintain buffer zones in the east, north and south of Gaza to deny Hamas and other militant groups direct access to its border, to avoid a repeat of the October 7 attack.
It also has expressed concerns about what it views as the large number of Palestinians that Hamas wants in exchange for hostages. Hamas could also present a hurdle to reaching an enduring settlement, according to the sources, who said peace could only be achieved if the group abandons its firm commitment to armed struggle and Gaza’s demilitarisation.
“The mediators don’t want either Israel or Hamas to declare a victory when the war is paused,” said one source. A non-partisan government in which Hamas is not represented in any way is thought to be crucial to any deal to pause the war.
“The world needs a government other than Hamas’s to handle all the issues that need to be dealt with after the war ends,” a source said.