The new Palestinian prime minister presented the vision of a “Revitalized PA” that will be established. Still, there is no word in his vision about the war on terror, stopping the payment of salaries to terrorists, and stopping incitement in the PA’s education system and media.
There is also no statement of intent in his vision to return to the PA the security control over northern Samaria that it lost more than two years ago to armed terrorist groups supported by Iran.
On March 15, 2024, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas tasked his close associate Mohammad Moustafa with establishing the new Palestinian government, in accordance with the Biden administration, to establish a “Revitalized PA” that would undertake governmental reforms, eradicate corruption in its mechanism, and fight terrorism.
Muhammad Moustafa has already started contacts with various Palestinian personalities to include them in his “technocratic” government in preparation for its presentation to the PA chairman and its inauguration.
Meanwhile, he also published his vision in an article on March 20 in Palestinian newspapers affiliated with the PA, titled “My vision for the aspirations of our Palestinian people.”
In his vision, he wrote about establishing an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 armistice lines with East Jerusalem as its capital. The state would include the territories of the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria after their institutions have been united, and a geographical link would connect them.
According to him, realizing his vision requires achieving a union between “the two parts of the Palestinian homeland” and conducting reforms to improve its implementation.
Moustafa discussed ending the Israeli occupation and creating real change in the area in his vision. [He made no mention of relations with Israel.] Moustafa described the problematic situation in the Gaza Strip and the urgent need to end the humanitarian disaster. He presented the Hamas/Gaza Ministry numbers of casualties and damage caused to the Gaza Strip since October 7: More than 31,000 dead, of whom 13,000 were children, and 73,000 wounded. Seventeen thousand orphans lost at least one parent, and 1.7 million persons were displaced.
According to the figures he presented, about 60 percent of the houses in the Gaza Strip were damaged during the war, and the education and health systems have collapsed.
The Tasks of the New Government
According to Muhammad Moustafa’s vision, the new “technocratic” government will be a government of experts without party affiliation, which will restore the public’s trust and gain international support.
The new government will strive to establish an independent agency that will operate transparently to restore the Gaza Strip and a development fund, which will be managed by an international body, to collect and organize the funds to finance the reconstruction operations.
Hamas’s Objections
Opposing Abbas’s steps to form a new government, Hamas issued a harsh statement: “We express our rejection of continuing this approach that has inflicted and continues to inflict harm on our people and our national cause. Making individual decisions and engaging in superficial and empty steps such as forming a new government without national consensus only reinforces a policy of unilateralism and deepens division.”
Mustafa’s Promises
In his article, Muhammad Moustafa promised that his government would act transparently and reform the mechanisms of the Palestinian Authority with these goals:
- Strengthen the rule of law.
- Strengthen the judicial system.
- Fight corruption in the PA mechanisms.
- Maintain human rights and freedom of expression.
- Prepare for general elections for parliament and the presidency.
- Achieve financial stability for the PA and stimulate the national economy.
Moustafa did not publish a single word about peace with Israel, the war against terrorism, stopping the monthly payment to terrorists and their families, or stopping incitement against Israel in the PA’s education system and official media.
The vision also does not contain any statement of intentions to return to the PA the security control over northern Samaria, which it lost more than two years ago to armed terrorist groups supported by Iran.
Officials in the PA estimate that Moustafa’s presentation of his platform is a public relations gambit. They say that the new prime minister will not significantly change the PA’s conduct or build trust with the Palestinian street.
At the top of the Fatah movement, there is anger over the appointment of the prime minister, whom they claim is the result of Mustafa’s connections with Mahmoud Abbas, the chairman of the PA, and his family members.
Moustafa responded, saying that these are lies based on a political rivalry in the context of the succession battle in the PA.
