By Lucy Adautin
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has declared the resignation of his government, responsible for governing portions of the occupied West Bank, citing the increasing violence in the territory and the conflict in Gaza.
“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,” said Shtayyeh, who submitted his resignation to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday.
“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 said.
As US pressure mounts on Abbas to overhaul the Palestinian Authority (PA) and establish a political framework capable of governing a Palestinian state post-war, Shtayyeh’s remarks come into focus.
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Despite this, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently dismissed appeals for the PA, under Abbas’s leadership, to assume control of a Palestinian state and manage Gaza.
Recently, Israeli lawmakers supported Netanyahu’s stance against 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,” said Netanyahu.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 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 said in a statement.
Since the Oslo Accords were signed in the early 1990s, little advancement has been made towards achieving a two-state solution.
As the International Court of Justice deliberates on the legal ramifications of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, representing the far-right, revealed plans on Thursday to construct over 3,300 new homes in response to a shooting incident that resulted in the death of an Israeli civilian.
Smotrich announced the initiation of an approval process for 300 new homes in the Kedar settlement and 2,350 in Maale Adumim, the location of the attack.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said 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 said 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.”
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 more than 29,000 Palestinian civilians, according to the strip’s Ministry of Health.
Palestinian health officials also say at least 401 people have been killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank during the same period.
