Palestinian President Abbas appoints new prime minister of Palestinian Authority

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reads a statement as he meets French President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023 in Ramallah, West Bank. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named Mohammad Mustafa on Tuesday as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the state-run Palestinian news agency WAFA said on Thursday.

Mustafa's appointment comes after mounting pressure to reform the governing body of the occupied Palestinian territories and improve its governance in the occupied West Bank where they are based.

The new prime minister was assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of the Gaza Strip, and reform the institutions of the Palestinian Authority, WAFA added.

Mustafa replaces former Prime Minister Mohammed Shttayah who, along with his government, resigned in February. The PA, which is dominated by the Fatah political party, held administrative control over Gaza until 2007 after Hamas won the 2006 legislative elections in the occupied territories and expelled it from the strip. Since then, Hamas has ruled Gaza and the PA governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.