Palestinian PM Mohammad Shtayyeh resigns amid Israel-Hamas war

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh Monday said he has stepped down from the post and has submitted his resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas.

Shtayyeh revealed news of submitting his and his government’s resignation, which rules parts of the occupied West Bank, at a press conference on Monday.

Why Palestinian PM has resigned?

Explaining his decision to step down, Shtayyeh said: “The decision to resign came in light of the unprecedented escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem and the war, genocide and starvation in the Gaza Strip."

Shtayyeh assumed office in 2019. His resignation comes amid mounting pressure on President Abbas from the United States to revamp the Palestinian Authority, align with international efforts to stop hostilities in Gaza and initiate the formation of a political structure for post-war governance.

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Shtayyeh stepping down paves the path for the establishment of a broad consensus among Palestinians regarding political arrangements amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

In a statement to the cabinet announcing his resignation, Shtayyeh said the next stage will have to take into account the emerging reality in war-torn Gaza.

The next stage will “require new governmental and political arrangements that take into account the emerging reality in the Gaza Strip, the national unity talks, and the urgent need for an inter-Palestinian consensus,” Shtayyeh said, adding that it will require “the extension of the Authority’s authority over the entire land, Palestine.”

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Hamas on Shtayyeh’s resignation

“The resignation of Shtayyeh’s government only makes sense if it comes within the context of national consensus on arrangements for the next phase,” a report by Reuters quoted senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri as saying.

There has been a significant increase in violence in the occupied West Bank after the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed 1,139 people. Israel’s retaliatory bombardments on Gaza have killed more than 29,000 Palestinian civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

With inputs from agencies