Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has announced the resignation of his government, which rules parts of the occupied West Bank, due to the escalating violence in the occupied territory and the war on Gaza.
Shtayyeh’s comments come as US pressure grows on Abbas to shake up the 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 Gaza.
Last week, Israeli lawmakers backed Netanyahu’s rejection of any “unilateral” recognition of a Palestinian state.
But 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.
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 said he was “disappointed” to hear of the Israeli announcement of the new settlements.
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.
