Mohammad Mustafa accepts task to form 19th Palestinian government

By Awad Rjoob

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) — Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Mohammad Mustafa on Friday accepted the task of forming a new government.

“The Prime Minister-designate accepted in a letter sent to the president tonight his assignment to form the 19th government as specified in the law and to pursue extensive consultations for its approval for ratification by the president,” the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, a day after Mustafa's appointment by President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.

“I am honored to accept this assignment and recognize the seriousness of the stage that the Palestinian cause is going through, the difficult conditions inflicted upon our steadfast people and the existing challenges faced, particularly in light of the repercussions of the ongoing months-long Israeli aggression against our people,” he added.

Mustafa reaffirmed that “there is no state alone in Gaza and no state without Gaza.”

He pledged to alleviate "the suffering of our people, especially in the Gaza Strip, providing all forms of support and relief to our people there, and preparing from this moment for economic recovery and reconstruction operations.”

President Abbas on Thursday appointed Mustafa as the new prime minister and asked him to form a new government.

Mustafa will replace Mohammad Shtayyeh, who resigned in February in the light of developments related to the Israeli war on Gaza.

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Mustafa is currently the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), a senior economic advisor to Abbas and a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive against Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by the Palestinian group, Hamas, in which less than 1,200 people were killed.

At least 31,490 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and 73,439 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi