(Jerusalem) Fatah and Hamas clashed Friday evening over the appointment of a loyalist of Mahmoud Abbas to the post of prime minister called to reform the Palestinian Authority in the context of the possible “post-war” in Gaza.
President Abbas on Thursday appointed one of his close friends, the economist Mohammad Mustafa, as prime minister in an attempt, according to analysts, to convince the international community of his desire to reform his Palestinian Authority.
But on Friday, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, as well as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP, Marxist) slammed this appointment, accusing Mahmoud Abbas of being “disconnected” from reality.
“Forming a new government without national consensus will aggravate inter-Palestinian divisions,” they warned in a joint statement.
The appointment of the new prime minister proves “the deep crisis within the Palestinian Authority and its disconnection from reality”, according to the press release which denounces the “gap between the Authority and the Palestinian people”.
Since fratricidal clashes in June 2007, the Palestinian leadership has been divided between the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas, led by Fatah, which exercises limited power in the West Bank, territory occupied since 1967 by Israel, and Hamas, in power in Gaza. .
In recent months, many Palestinians have strongly criticized President Abbas for his “helplessness” in the face of the Israeli ground and air operation in the now war-ravaged Gaza Strip.
Fatah’s muscular response
Late Friday evening, Fatah responded to Hamas, accusing the Islamist movement in a statement of “having caused the return of the Israeli occupation of Gaza” by “undertaking the adventure of October 7” which led to a “catastrophe ( nakba, in Arabic) even more horrible and cruel than that of 1948”, a reference to the displacement and expulsion of approximately 760,000 Palestinians from their lands at the creation of Israel.
The Israel/Hamas war was sparked on October 7 by an unprecedented attack carried out by commandos of the Islamist movement infiltrated from Gaza into southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli sources.
In retaliation, Israel promised to “annihilate” Hamas and launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip which has so far left 31,490 dead, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
“The real disconnection from reality and from the Palestinian people is that of the Hamas leadership, which until now does not understand the extent of the catastrophe that our people are experiencing,” added Fatah, accusing Hamas of not having himself “consulted” the other Palestinian leaders before launching his attack against Israel.
Mohammad Mustafa’s appointment, which follows last month’s resignation of Mohammed Shtayyeh’s government, comes as regional and Western powers call for reform of the Palestinian Authority so that it can be a “credible” actor in administer Gaza after the war and ultimately lead a future Palestinian state.
But the role of the Palestinian Authority after the war still remains uncertain, due to its limited influence in Gaza and the refusal in particular of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to envisage a future Palestinian state.
In a letter accepting his mission to President Abbas, Mr. Mustafa said he was “aware of the critical phase that the Palestinian cause is going through,” and insisted on the need for a Palestinian state bringing together Gaza and the West Bank.