Palestinian leader appoints longtime adviser as prime minister
PoliticoJan 01, 1900
Pres. Abbas Names New PM in Overhaul of Palestinian Authority
The Facts
Palestinian Pres. Mahmoud Abbas, 88, the long-time leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA), named a new prime minister on Thursday. Mohammed Mustafa, a years-long ally and economic adviser to Abbas, was appointed with the mandate of reforming the PA following mounting pressure from the West.
The PA, run by Abbas's Fatah party, partially controls the West Bank. Following the collapse of a coalition government in 2007, violence erupted between Fatah and Hamas, leading to Hamas taking control of the Gaza strip.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
While the appointment of Mohammed Mustafa will likely be well-received among Western diplomats, it's not clear if the PA has enacted enough reform to satisfy the US. There's optimism that a well-educated technocrat like Mustafa can help push the PA in the right direction, but this has yet to be seen. Either way, Mustafa will have a lot on his plate.
Pro-Israel narrative
Mustafa, who is an internationally respected economist, has been appointed to clean up Fatah's endemic corruption. He is also tasked with unifying the PA's control over the West Bank and Gaza — something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out. Though Israel wants to see this war end and peace be found, skepticism remains that the PA is capable of forming an administration that doesn't threaten Israel's security.
Pro-Palestine narrative
Mustafa, a long-time ally and respected advisor to Abbas, is well-suited to taking this role. However, with much of Gaza in rubble, much of its population is either dear or starved and internally displaced. Meanwhile, Hamas is still in control of Gaza, and the PA is still deeply unpopular with Palestinians. Mustafa has a gargantuan hill to climb if he truly wants to have any positive effect on this situation.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that there will be at least 48.2K Palestinian civilian deaths in the Israel-Gaza conflict before July 1, 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
