Hamas stated that they do not care about the reported imminent possibility of Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyah’s government resigning, as reported by Al Arabiya on Sunday.
“Mohammed Shtayyeh will step down from the prime minister position, and [Mahmoud] Abbas will appoint someone even more corrupt,” a Hamas source told the Saudi state-owned news outlet.
Mahmoud Abbas became president of the PA in 2005 for a four-year term and has remained president without subsequent elections.
According to the source, Hamas aims to form an impartial and national government through consensus among Palestinian factions. The upcoming talks in Moscow for a unity government would have clear tasks for a specified period.
The unity talks in Moscow are set for Monday.
If successful, Palestinian sources claim Shtayyeh may resign to form a new technocratic government, as reported by Sky News Arabia. A Qatari source initially reported Hamas agreeing to form such a government earlier this month.
However, Al Arabiya reported that Hamas media spokesman in Lebanon, Walid al-Kilani, viewed the government formation as a response to American demands on the PA rather than beneficial to the Palestinian people.
Al-Kilani stated, “This is in response to an American demand from the Palestinian Authority to make amendments to the government.” He added that the PA was seeking American funding through this action.
Contrary to Hamas’s desire for a consensus government, Fatah’s spokesperson, Abdel Fattah Doula, stated in an interview that the next government’s aim was to manage Palestinian affairs, not represent factions. Doula emphasized the priority of stopping the war.
Despite the differences, Hamas denied any rift with Fatah in a statement on their Telegram channel, stating, “We are not in a state of rift with Fatah, and our doors are open for everyone to talk about what is in the interest of the Palestinian people.”
