Palestinian PM Hamdallah resigns; Abbas begins government reshuffle

Palestinian factions not convinced in Fatah's call for unity, seen to antagonize Hamas.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah officially submitted his resignation on Tuesday, after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly requested the move over the weekend.

During the weekly cabinet session, Hamdallah said the entire government had given its resignation, and was at "the disposal of the President." The cabinet would "continue to perform its duties and serve our people, and carry out all responsibilities until the formation of a new government," the prime minister said on twitter.

"We express our confidence in the success of the efforts to form a new government that will be able to meet the citizens demands, restore national unity, end political division, and lead our people to the path of freedom and independence."

During a visit to the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Monday, the premier had denied a new government was an attempt to squeeze Hamas. "We hope that all Palestinian factions will participate in this (new) government and I appeal to the Hamas movement to participate," he said. Fatah Central Committee member supported the claim on Monday night. "There is no veto on Hamas' participation," Azzam al-Hamad told Palestinian media. The Islamist movement Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, is not part of the PLO.

Fatah's central committee made recommendations to Abbas to dissolve the government last week, and welcomed the prime minister's declaration.

But while Fatah Revolutionary Council Secretary Majid Al-Futaini remarked that contact with other factions within the Palestinian Liberation Organization and with other "national figures" would begin immediately, Hamas and Islamic Jihad would be excluded.

"The committee will begin its work today to move forward in forming this government, which was imposed by the circumstances of division and intransigence of Hamas," Al-Futaini told Voice of Palestine on Monday morning.

The next prime minister is likely to be from Fatah, but the central committee hopes to create a movement for unity between Palestinian factions, ahead of reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas in Moscow in mid-February. However, Palestinian sources said that Fatah would be trying to comfort its hold of the government by demanding the three key posts of finance, foreign affairs and the interior.

This means popular Palestinian figure Riyad al-Maliki, who runs as an independent, would be pushed out as foreign minister, a post he had occupied since 2007.

Other Palestinian parties have reportedly refused to take part in an exercise that is seen as further shuttering Hamas out of Palestinian politics. This includes two influential outfits: the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front.

Rumours of a new government have been swirling in recent weeks, and Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri attacked such a plan.

"The formation of any government apart from a national consensus one is a continuation of the unilateral actions taken by Fatah," he tweeted Sunday. "Such a government will enjoy no legitimacy."

A Fatah spokesperson said on Sunday that the new government will rule both in Gaza and the West Bank, although the PA currently holds little power over the coastal enclave, which is in the hands of Hamas.

Hamas called any government created outside of the national consensus "invalid and illegitimate." It will be the "grave" of the Palestinian reconciliation, a movement spokesperson said in an interview on Gaza's Al-Aqsa TV.

Relations between Fatah and the Islamic movement are at an all-time low, following months of confrontations, which have led to a drastic isolation of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas's forces in a 2007 near civil war, a year after winning parliamentary elections. Since then Abbas's governments have maintained limited self rule in the West Bank, but the split between the two has remained.

In June 2014, Hamdallah formed what was labelled a national unity government after a landmark reconciliation deal between Fatah and Hamas. The deal has since broken down and the government has no control in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Abbas was elected in 2005 for an initial four-year term but no elections have been held since then due to the Fatah-Hamas split.

Economic protests and Hamdallah's downfall

Although the upheavals at the heart of Palestinian politics should be reasons enough for this dissolution, a popular protest movement in the West Bank has precipitated the downfall of Hamdallah's government.

The current prime minister has become increasingly unpopular, partly because of his unconditional support for a controversial social security law, amid a worsening economic situation in the West Bank and stalled peace talks with Israel.

Palestinians have protested in large numbers against the social security law, in a unprecedented show of popular force against their own government. Thousands have come out onto the streets, staging sit-ins in front of Palestinian institutions, and bringing the region to a standstill in widespread strikes.


Under the proposed system both private employers and their employees would pay monthly into a government-managed fund, with employees receiving a pension when they retire. The government says the scheme will provide new security for employees, arguing similar systems exist in countries across the globe.

But detractors fear they will only see an effective drop in wages; and with no outside guarantees, they do not feel they can trust the Palestinian government to manage the fund.

Hamdallah has also courted derision on social media in the past few days, after highly publicized claims that the economy was doing well. "Despite restrictions and measures by the occupation authority, our national exports, and for the first time, have exceeded the $1 billion mark," said Hamdallah at an event on Saturday.


Hamdallah claimed that his government had succeeded in reducing dependency on the Israeli economy, but for many among Palestinians, the claim is hollow.

Palestinians are experiencing record levels of unemployment, with more than 31% now going without work, while international aid tumbles since Donald Trump came into power in the White House.

The social movement is a new development in the West Bank, and represents a breakdown of trust in government, as people traditionally mostly come out to demonstrate against Israeli policies.

Ahead of the decision to dissolved the government, the central committee recommended not to implement the bill.

"We do not want the society to be divided on secondary issues, so the recommendation is to freeze the social security law," said Al-Futaini.

Who's in the running?

Several contenders were already slated for the prime ministership ahead of Hamdallah's statement.

Most were betting on Mohammed Shtayyeh, a top Abbas adviser with trusted economic credentials.

Shtayyeh, who has a PhD in economic development from England's University of Sussex, is the former dean of Birzeit University, and the current head of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction. His appointment would be a strong signal that the prime minister's first concern should be the economy, and he will bring a strong business background to the position.

Other people in the running included Fatah deputy chief Mahmoud al-Aloul, who has long been slated as Abbas' successor, and PLO secretary-general and top negotiator Saeb Erekat.

But according to sources within Fatah, Aloul is not interested in the position, while many would not accept Erekat's nomination. The veteran diplomat already holds many positions within the Palestinian executive, some would say too many.

Other names on the unofficial ballot are Hussein al-Sheikh, head of the PA commission that liaises with Israel on civil issues, and Mohammed Mustafa, Abbas's economic adviser.

A decision will be taken "within weeks," Palestinian officials said on Monday, although it can be expected to come quicker.