Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas swore in the new P.A. government headed by Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Sunday, replacing the previous so-called “national consensus” government of Rami Hamdallah that was appointed with the consent of Hamas.
This new government was unilaterally created by Abbas and the Fatah leadership.
Abbas dissolved the Palestinian Parliament on Dec. 22, 2018, which had not functioned for more than 12 years. The announcement followed a decision of the Abbas-created P.A. Constitutional Court that approved the dissolution of the parliament and called for general P.A. elections within six months.
If Abbas and/or Shtayyeh do indeed intend to comply with the decision of the Constitutional Court, the elections for the Palestinian Parliament must be held before June 21. Accordingly, the term of the new government will be limited to no more than three months.
In its 25 years of existence, the P.A. has held only two general elections—the first in 1996 and the last in 2006. Since Abbas’s December decision, little, if anything, has been done to prepare for the elections, and no date has yet been set.
