Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans to appoint Mohammed Mustafa, a close economic adviser, as prime minister in the coming days, according to two Palestinian officials, a European Union diplomat and a fourth person familiar with the matter.
If Mr. Abbas formally appoints Mr. Mustafa, it would amount to a rejection of international efforts to encourage the octogenarian Palestinian leader to appoint an independent prime minister who can revitalize the hardening rule, officials and analysts said.
While Mr. Abbas was set to appoint Mr. Mustafa, a longtime insider to the highest levels of the authority, he was still holding final consultations with Arab countries before signing a presidential decree tasking Mr. Mustafa with forming a new government, a from the Palestinian women, officials and the diplomat of the European Union reported. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Mr Abbas could change his mind and the decision to appoint Mr Mustafa will only be final if Mr Abbas signs a decree. After the Palestinian Authority president appoints a prime minister, that person has three weeks to form a government, but can take another two weeks if needed, according to the Palestinian Basic Law.
In late February, Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh submitted the resignation of his cabinet, citing the need for a new government that “takes into account the emerging reality in the Gaza Strip.” Mr. Shtayyeh’s government continued in a caretaker capacity.
Hamas led a deadly attack from Gaza into Israel on October 7, and Israel responded with heavy bombing and an invasion, vowing to break the group’s control of the enclave. But these events have raised difficult questions about how a post-war Gaza will be governed and rebuilt.
The Palestinian Authority has limited governmental powers in the West Bank. It lost control of Gaza to Hamas in a power struggle in 2007.
The United States has called for reform of the widely unpopular Palestinian Authority in recent months, hoping it could eventually take over the reins of governance in Gaza after the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has rejected any such role for the Authority.
Much of the Palestinian public views the Palestinian Authority as tainted by corruption, mismanagement and collaboration with Israel. With no functioning parliament in the areas controlled by the authority, Mr. Abbas, 88, has long ruled by decree and wields broad influence over the judiciary and prosecutorial system. There have been no presidential elections in the Palestinian territories since 2005, nor parliamentary elections since 2006.
Although the Biden administration has not told Mr. Abbas who to appoint as prime minister, it has conveyed that it hopes for an independent figure who will be acceptable to ordinary Palestinians, the international community and Israel, according to Western diplomats who spoke to the on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
In the Palestinian Authority, the prime minister is supposed to oversee the work of ministries, but Mr. Abbas often interferes in decision-making, according to analysts.
Nasser al-Qudwa, a former foreign minister whose name has been floated as a possible prime minister, said Mr Mustafa’s appointment would not represent “any real change”.
“It would be replacing an official named Mohammed with another official named Mohammed, while Abbas continues to hold all the cards. What is the change?’ said Mr. Qudwa, a staunch opponent of Mr. Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen. “Abu Mazen wants to maintain the status quo. He wants to keep all the power in his hands.”
In addition to serving as an adviser to Mr. Abbas, Mr. Mustafa, an economist educated at George Washington University in Washington, runs the Palestine Investment Fund, whose board of directors is appointed by the authority’s president. He was previously Minister of Economy and Deputy Prime Minister of the Authority.
For weeks, Mr. Abbas has been signaling his desire to appoint Mr. Mustafa. In January, he sent Mr. Mustafa to the World Economic Forum’s annual conference in Davos, where heads of state and foreign ministers gather to discuss global affairs.
At the conference, Mr. Mustafa said he believed the Palestinian Authority could improve its governance. “We don’t want to give anyone an excuse,” he said in a wide-ranging discussion with Borge Brende, the forum’s president. “The Palestinian Authority can do better in terms of building better institutions.”
Any future Palestinian prime minister will likely face enormous challenges, which may include trying to rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip and improving the government’s credibility.
Jehad Harb, a Ramallah-based analyst, agreed that Mr. Mustafa’s appointment would be a sign that Mr. Abbas has no intention of leaving power, but said judgment on a new government should be reserved until the public learns the identities of its ministers, and how much power and independence they can exercise.
“It is possible that there is an opportunity, but we may also see a missed opportunity as we are used to,” he said.
