Palestinian President Abbas Names Mohammed Mustafa as New Prime Minister Amid Reform Push

On Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appointed his longtime economic adviser, Mohammed Mustafa, to be the next prime minister in the face of US pressure to restructure the Palestinian Authority as part of Washington's post-war strategy for Gaza.

Mustafa, a US-educated economist and political independent, now faces the task of establishing a new cabinet for the PA, which has limited authority in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Mohammed Mustafa Named New Palestinian Prime Minister

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas looks on during his meeting with the French Foreign Minister at his headquarters in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on February 5, 2024. France's top diplomat's first Middle East trip as foreign minister aims at pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian Hamas movement since October 7, a ministry spokesman said.
(Photo : NASSER NASSER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

In a statement announcing the appointment on Thursday, Abbas asked Mustafa to organize strategies to fight corruption, spearhead reforms in the government, security services, and economy, and reunite administration in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

Mustafa replaces former prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh, who resigned in February along with his administration, citing the need for change in light of Israel's war on Gaza and the rising violence in the occupied West Bank.

The internationally recognized PA, which the Fatah party dominates, exercises limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank, but Hamas took over Gaza in 2007.

It seeks to re-unify the government of Palestinian territories after encountering significant challenges, including strong opposition from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a devastating war that continues to rage without an end in sight.

Hamas and Fatah are expected to have talks this week in Moscow. Mustafa previously served as economy minister and deputy prime minister and held senior positions at the World Bank.

Mustafa was named chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) by Abbas in 2015. The PIF finances projects throughout the occupied Palestinian territories and has assets close to $1 billion.

Mustafa Defends Palestinians

During the seven-week conflict that claimed the lives of over 2,100 Palestinians, Mustafa oversaw a committee tasked with reconstructing Gaza while serving as deputy prime minister responsible for economic issues from 2013 to 2014.

Mustafa said that the catastrophe and humanitarian impact of Israel's ongoing war on Gaza was far larger than ten years ago in a speech at Davos in January.

Biden administration officials have asked Abbas to restructure the PA to include technocrats and economic experts to assist in governing post-war Gaza. However, since the president would remain in overall control, it is unclear if the US demands for reform could be met by appointing a new cabinet led by a close Abbas ally.

Meanwhile, Israel has declared that it will never cooperate with a Palestinian government that does not oppose Hamas and its attack on southern Israel on October 7.

Mustafa described the October 7 attack as "unfortunate for everybody" in his Davos speech. He said that it is also a symptom of a bigger problem that the Palestinian people have been suffering for 75 years non-stop.

He added that until today, they still believe that statehood for Palestinians is the way forward. They hope that this time around, they will be able to achieve that so that all people in the region can live in security and peace.