Palestinian president approves 19th government led by Mohammad Mustafa

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas approved a new government Thursday led by Mohammad Mustafa, making it the 19th in the country's history.

"Prime Minister-designate Mohammad Mustafa presented the government's work program and the proposed formation list to President Mahmoud Abbas," the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, reported.

"Accordingly, the President issued granted confidence to the 19th government," it added.

The new government has 23 ministers, under the leadership of Mustafa, who retained his position as foreign minister.

The government will take the constitutional oath before Abbas next Sunday, said WAFA.

The news agency said the new government work program emphasizes "its political reference to the Palestine Liberation Organization."

It added that the program "includes prioritizing the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip."

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian enclave since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas in which 1,139 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,500 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 74,900 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli army has also imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving most of the population, particularly residents of the north, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war, now in its 174th day, has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands 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 Mohammad Sio in Istanbul