Palestine Prime Minister and Cabinet Step Down Amid Political Turmoil

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced on Monday the resignation of his government, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank. The decision was made in response to the need for change following the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

Shtayyeh officially submitted his government’s resignation to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, aged 88, stating, “I would like to inform the honorable council and our great people that I placed the government’s resignation at the disposal of Mr. President (Mahmoud Abbas) last Tuesday, and today I submit it in writing,” as shared in a Facebook post. President Abbas has yet to formally accept the resignation.

Calls for a reformed Palestinian Authority to oversee all Palestinian territories post the conflict sparked by Hamas’s attack on October 7 have been made by the United States and other influential nations.

Shtayyeh cited “developments related to the aggression against the Gaza Strip and the escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem,” areas that have seen heightened violence during the conflict.

In light of these circumstances, the 66-year-old Prime Minister emphasized that “the next stage and its challenges require new governmental and political measures that take into account the new reality in the Gaza Strip.”