
The Palestinian Authority (PA) government, led by Mohammed Shtayyeh, is on the brink of resigning, paving the way for the formation of a new technocratic administration within days, i24NEWS reported on Sunday, citing Palestinian Arab media reports.
According to reports from Sky News Arabic, sources within the PA leadership suggested that Shtayyeh's government could step down within the next two days.
The move is anticipated to facilitate the establishment of a new professional technocratic government by the end of the week.
These developments come against the backdrop of recent approvals by Hamas for the creation of a technocratic government tasked with the reconstruction of Gaza and the restoration of security in the region following the war.
Hamas has reportedly signaled its willingness to support the formation of such a government, which would operate independently of any Palestinian Arab political faction. Instead, the new administration would be led by non-partisan professionals during an initial transitional period until elections can be organized.
Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since 2007, when Hamas violently took control of Gaza in a bloody coup.
A unity government between Hamas and Fatah collapsed in 2015 when PA chairman Abbas decided to dissolve it amid a deepening rift between the sides.
Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in October of 2017, as part of which Hamas was to transfer power in Gaza by December 1 of that year.
That deadline was initially put back by 10 days and later reportedly hit “obstacles”. It has never been implemented.
The PA has not held elections in years. Such elections were scheduled for 2021, but PA chairman Abbas officially announced that they would be postponed.
While the PA chairman cited Israel’s refusal to allow Arabs residing in eastern Jerusalem to vote as the reason for the postponement, many believe that the real reason is Abbas’ fear that he would lose the elections to Hamas.