Palestinians' Musical Chairs: Replacing One Mohammed with Another Mohammed

[Valin]

Gatestone Institute

Khaled Abu Toameh
March 1, 2024

• The assumption that a new Palestinian government headed by Mustafa (or any other figure selected by Abbas) would be different than the one headed by Shtayyeh is deadly mistaken. The cabinet shake-up is an insignificant cosmetic change.

• If the Shtayyeh government was already working on a plan to revamp the Palestinian Authority (as the US administration is demanding), why is he being asked to be replaced with another Abbas loyalist? Is the new government headed by Mustafa going to come up with a different plan for reforming the PA? This just shows that Abbas's real objective is to play the Americans for fools by creating the impression that the new prime minister will be different than his predecessor.

• Abbas is well aware that it is safer for him to live under Israeli security control than under the rule of Hamas, whose members killed dozens of his supporters during the 2007 Hamas coup against the Palestinian Authority.

• Besides, Abbas knows that assuming control of the Gaza Strip in the post-war era would mean taking upon himself the almost impossible task of rebuilding the Gaza Strip and preventing Hamas and other terror groups from reasserting their power.

• So, to appease the US administration, Abbas is once again playing the musical chairs game of the prime ministers. Abbas wants the Americans to believe that he is serious about revitalizing the Palestinian Authority and rebuilding the Gaza Strip. Abbas is hoping that his latest musical chair ploy will incentivize the international community to continue pouring millions of dollars into the coffers of the PA leadership.

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