Palestinian Authority PM resigns

“The decision to resign came in light of the unprecedented escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem and the war, genocide and starvation in the Gaza Strip,” Shtayyeh, who submitted his resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, said.

“I see that the next stage and its challenges require new governmental and political arrangements that take into account the new reality in Gaza and the need for a Palestinian-Palestinian consensus based on Palestinian unity and the extension of unity of authority over the land of Palestine,” he added.

Shtayyeh’s comments come as US pressure grows on Abbas to shake up the Palestinian Authority [PA] and begin work on a political structure that can govern a Palestinian state following the war.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has on numerous occasions rejected calls for the PA under Abbas to take control of a Palestinian state and govern over Gaza.

Last week, Israeli lawmakers backed Netanyahu’s rejection of any “unilateral” recognition of a Palestinian state.

“The Knesset came together in an overwhelming majority against the attempt to impose on us the establishment of a Palestinian state, which would not only fail to bring peace but would endanger the state of Israel,” stated Netanyahu.

But the Palestinian Foreign Ministry slammed the vote and accused Israel of holding the rights of Palestinians hostage due to the occupation of Palestinian territories.

“The ministry reaffirms that the State of Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations and its recognition by other nations does not require permission from Netanyahu,” it announced in a statement.

Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s, little progress has been made towards achieving a two-state solution.

As the International Court of Justice hears from about 50 countries on the legal implications of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, the far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday announced plans to build more than 3,300 new homes in response to a shooting that killed one Israeli civilian.

Smotrich said the decision would begin an approval process for 300 new homes in the Kedar settlement and 2,350 in Maale Adumim, where the attack occurred.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated he was “disappointed” to hear of the Israeli announcement of the new settlements.

“It’s been longstanding US policy under Republican and Democratic administrations alike that new settlements are counter-productive to reaching an enduring peace,” he stressed in Buenos Aires.

“They’re also inconsistent with international law. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion and in our judgement this only weakens, it doesn’t strengthen, Israel’s security,” he added.

Violence in the occupied West Bank has escalated significantly after the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed 1,139 people. Israel’s retaliatory bombardments on Gaza have killed almost 29,800 Palestinian civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Palestinian health officials also say that 401 people have been killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank during the same period.