BICOM

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad formally submitted his resignation to PA President Mahmoud Abbas over the weekend. Rumours circulated last week that Fayyad would stand down following increasing disagreements between him and Abbas, amidst significant difficulties facing the Palestinian economy. Tensions between the two peaked after Fayyad recently accepted the resignation of PA Finance Minister Nabil Qassis against Abbas’ wishes.

Fayyad is popular with Western governments who credit him with bringing Palestinian finances under control, tackling corruption and mismanagement, and spearheading state-building efforts in the West Bank. Foreign Secretary William Hague expressed “regret” on hearing of Fayyad’s resignation saying, “Dr Fayyad has made an outstanding contribution to Palestinian state-building, as Finance Minister then as Prime Minister. He has been a close partner to successive British Governments.”

Several publications, report that US Secretary of State John Kerry called Abbas urging him to reject Fayyad’s resignation. Kerry had met with Fayyad twice over recent weeks and recently announced that a new US-sponsored economic initiative agreed by all sides would be instituted in the Palestinian areas of the West Bank, as a first step to paving the way for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Fayyad’s resignation will likely complicate Kerry’s efforts towards kick-starting negotiations.

Fayyad is expected to remain in his position until a successor is found. Although Palestinian law requires that Abbas choose a new Prime Minister within two weeks, there is little to indicate that a swift appointment will be made. However, two names that are widely reported to be under consideration are former chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund Muhammad Mustafa and Rami Hamdallah, president of An-Najah University in Nablus, who holds a doctorate in applied linguistics from Lancaster University. Like Fayyad, both are considered technocrats rather than politicians.