Muhammad Mustafa (right) said that he is ready to work on implementing the tasks contained in the assignment letter (Reuters)

Ramallah -

In the wake of media exchanges and an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) on the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the most prominent since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on October 7, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa announced the start of His consultations to form the nineteenth Palestinian government.

The Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front, and National Initiative movements issued a joint statement in which they criticized the assignment, saying, “Making individual decisions and preoccupation with formal steps devoid of substance, such as forming a new government without national consensus, is a reinforcement of the policy of exclusivity and a deepening of division, at a pivotal historical moment.”

The response quickly came with a sharp attack from the Fatah movement, accusing Hamas of causing Israel's reoccupation of the Gaza Strip and "a new catastrophe for the Palestinian people."

Urgent |

“Hamas and Palestinian factions in response to the assignment of Muhammad Mustafa to form a government”:


- “The priority is to confront aggression and the war of extermination and starvation”


- “Making individual decisions, such as forming a new government without national consensus, strengthening the policy of exclusivity and deepening the division” pic.twitter.com/gypbFIWkOF

- Al Jazeera Palestine (@AJA_Palestine) March 15, 2024

Government tasks

At the top of the goals of the next government, according to the text of the mandate issued Thursday: leading, organizing and coordinating relief efforts in the Gaza Strip, moving from relief to economic recovery, developing plans and implementation mechanisms for the process of reunifying institutions between the governorates, taking the necessary measures and preparing to hold legislative and presidential elections as soon as possible. As well as security, economic and judicial reforms.

In a message to the Palestinian President confirming his acceptance of the assignment, Mustafa said that he would work to implement the tasks stated in the assignment letter, “first and foremost, alleviating the suffering of our people, especially in the Gaza Strip, and providing all forms of support and relief.”

Among those who see these goals as a repetitive, unachievable preamble, especially with the Palestinian Authority not controlling the Gaza Strip and Israel’s refusal to return it, and those who see them as a step that can be built upon in light of Israel’s efforts to destroy every Palestinian institutional building, the opinions of analysts polled by Al Jazeera Net varied regarding the extent of the ability to Mustafa is committed to achieving the goals of his assignment.

Hassan Khraisha: Neither Mustafa nor anyone else can face the current circumstances (Al Jazeera)

They don't look like the people

In a previous interview with Al Jazeera Net, the former Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Council, Hassan Khraisha, expected that Muhammad Mustafa would be assigned to form the government, and today he says that neither Mustafa nor anyone else can face the current circumstances.

He added that what the Palestinian people are looking forward to, but not mentioned in the mandate, is to stop the aggression and align with the Palestinian people and their resistance in Gaza.

He continued, "Everything contained in the assignment is a duplicate of previous assignments, and the assignment itself is an expression of the will of the foreigner and not the will of the Palestinian people."

Khreisha said that the assignment to form the government came "based on American, Israeli, regional and Arab illusions and promises about future settlements and a plan amended by the Arab Peace Plan (2004)."

He described the mandate to hold the elections as throwing ashes in the eyes, as “the president himself decided the date (2021) and was unable to hold it.”

In the opinion of the Palestinian parliamentarian, the Prime Minister-designate will not be able to carry out any task even if he wishes to do so, suggesting that his priority will be “receiving and managing foreign aid to the authority that will be provided under the title of building institutions, including paying the debts of employees and the private sector.”

Khraisha pointed out, "Any person assigned by President Mahmoud Abbas to become prime minister in the absence of an elected legislative council that holds people accountable and monitors them is the burning of this person."

Regarding his opinion of the person of Dr. Mustafa, he said, “There is no doubt that he is an academic and economic man, but he is a graduate of the World Bank, and at the current stage we are most in need of someone from the general public, not people who do not resemble our people.”

Abdel Majeed Sweilem: Unilateralism in the Palestinian arena has existed for more than 17 years (Al Jazeera)

Many monads

For his part, political writer Abdel Majeed Sweilem believes that “any government at this stage must have a central mission, which is the situation in Gaza and the rebuilding process.”

“If something else is necessary, it is to prepare Palestinian society to choose its political leaders and parties and return to democratic life in order to hold presidential and legislative elections and all civil society institutions,” according to Sweilem.

In his comment on the factions’ statement criticizing the “uniqueness” in forming the government, Sweilem said, “If we talk about unilateralism in the Palestinian arena, it is not limited to this aspect. Unilateralisms have existed for more than 17 years. This does not negate that this step should have been based on comprehensive national consensus.” Possibly, this is a really necessary issue.”

He added, "I ask, as an independent observer, whether the steps taken by Hamas (the Al-Aqsa flood) were nationally coordinated? Certainly not, and therefore no one can say this is a blatant or intentional unilateral step."

He pointed to the fear of a state of vacuum in light of Israeli attempts to remove everything Palestinian national and institutional from the Gaza Strip, considering that the formation of such a government “may help block the path to Netanyahu and the fascist right in Israel.”

He added, "It is true that this step is not what the Palestinian situation requires and is not at the level of the dangers and challenges we face, but if I were Hamas, I would try to overcome what I described as a unilateral step, because it is the Palestinian national movement now most in need of political protection in order to preserve its entity and existence through the national whole." ".

Sweilem explains that even if the Americans consider Mustafa very close to the president and may influence his decisions, the government will be accepted at the regional and international levels, but it will not have the keys to solving all crises. He also ruled out the presence of influence on the Israeli government to disburse the withheld Palestinian funds (clearance) to the government. In the future, “the clearing is subject to Israeli blackmail.”

Former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Qudwa regarding the appointment of Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa: There will not be any actual change #Gaza_War pic.twitter.com/NbrHvPI9FK

- Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) March 15, 2024

It is not a Palestinian decision

For his part, political science researcher Ahmed Abu Al-Hija does not see any opportunity to implement the terms of Mustafa’s assignment, considering that “part of it is protocol and appropriate to the stage.”

In his opinion, the Palestinian President did not assign Mustafa to form the government except after regional and international consultations, not necessarily obtaining approval regarding Muhammad Mustafa personally, as “choosing the Palestinian prime minister is not a purely Palestinian decision, especially at this stage in which there is American talk about reform in bodies.” Authority".

According to the Palestinian researcher, Muhammad Mustafa is not a suitable personality for the regional and international requirements for change during the next stage. “It is true that he has extensive relations with international institutions, but the source of apprehension on all sides is that he is very close to President Mahmoud Abbas, while what is required is someone who is an equal to the president.” This does not apply to Muhammad Mustafa.”

In Abu Al-Hija’s opinion, Mustafa’s choice “will not be accepted internally in any case, whether by the factions or by parties within the Fatah movement. His mission is doomed to failure before it begins, and he will not be able to work in the Gaza Strip at all.”

He pointed out that the Palestine Investment Fund, which Mustafa managed for years, and after 6 months of war, did not provide any dollars to Gaza, even though it manages two billion dollars, and it did not provide a single dollar to alleviate the severity of the financial crisis to the Authority. It does not have any internal fingerprint. It is a closed fund. ".

The Palestinian Basic Law gives the Prime Minister-designate to form his government a period of three weeks from the date of his appointment, and he has the right to another period of no more than two weeks maximum.

Source: Al Jazeera