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Agence France-Presse

Incoming Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced his new cabinet Saturday alongside president Mahmoud Abbas, leaving out the Islamist movement Hamas.
Several key positions were unchanged from the previous administration of Rami Hamdallah.
Analysts say the change of government was made to further isolate Hamas, which has been at odds with the Fatah party of Abbas and Shtayyeh for more than a decade.
They say 84-year-old Abbas, in power since 2005, retains the real decision-making authority.

In a statement Saturday night, Abbas confirmed the new government and welcomed the cabinet.
It includes many of his long-time allies and members of Fatah, though several smaller factions are also represented.
Other parties, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, refused to take part, calling for a unity government of all factions including Hamas.
Teens shot, rockets fired as Gaza marks anniversary of bloody protest
The Islamist movement controls the Gaza Strip, while the Palestinian Authority headed by Abbas is based in the West Bank, where Israel also maintains a military occupation.
Shtayyeh’s government replaces a technocratic administration which had the nominal backing of Hamas and all other Palestinian factions.
Both Foreign Minister Riyadh Malki and Finance Minister Shukri Bishara remain in their posts.

Atef Abu Seif, a Palestinian from Gaza who was badly beaten by a group of men in the Hamas-run enclave, will become culture minister.
Abbas charged Shtayyeh with forming a new government on March 10.
The United Nations envoy for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, welcomed the line-up.
“The United Nations remains fully committed to working with the Palestinian leadership and people in ending the occupation and advancing their legitimate national aspirations for statehood based on UN resolutions,” he said in a statement.
Israel blames Palestinian militants for Gaza rocket attack on Tel Aviv
Hamas and Fatah have been at loggerheads since the Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip in a 2007 near-civil war, a year after winning parliamentary elections.
Palestinian politics has been effectively frozen since, and multiple reconciliation attempts have failed.
Hamas has criticised the formation of the new government, accusing Fatah of a power grab.

Hugh Lovatt, Israel-Palestine analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the new administration appeared to be “a continuation, rather than a radical break, from the outgoing Hamdallah government”.
“Despite the inclusion of technocrats and political figures from smaller left-wing factions, the new Palestinian government remains heavily stacked with supporters of President Abbas,” he said.
US closes Jerusalem consulate, angers Palestinians
That raises questions about how much power and independence Shtayyeh will have, he added.
Former government minister Shtayyeh has been part of a number of Palestinian negotiating teams in US-brokered talks with Israel that have been suspended.


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Middle East

Mahmoud Abbas’ loyalists dominate newly formed Palestinian government

New Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye (right) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday. Photo: Xinhua

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas (C) gestures during his meeting with the newly announced government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank town of Ramallah, on April 13, 2019. - Shtayyeh announced his new cabinet today alongside president Mahmud Abbas. Several key positions were unchanged from the previous administration of Rami Hamdallah. (Photo by Fadi AROURI / POOL / AFP)

(190413) -- RAMALLAH, April 13, 2019 (Xinhua) -- New Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye takes oath during the swearing-in ceremony of the new government in the West Bank city of Ramallah, April 13, 2019. New Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye and his cabinet members were sworn in on Saturday before President Mahmoud Abbas at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the official television reported. (Xinhua/Fadi Arouri)

epa07470984 Protesters hold Palestinian flags and placards and shout slogans against the U.S. and Israel during a demonstration in Amman, Jordan, 29 March 2019. Thousand of people took to the street to protest against the decision of the USA to recognize Israel' sovereignty over the Golan Heights and also regarding the high tensions between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. EPA-EFE/ANDRE PAIN

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (seventh from right) poses for a group photograph with the members of the new Palestinian government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank town of Ramallah on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Teenagers shot, rockets fired as Palestinians mark anniversary of bloody Gaza border protests

Israeli soldiers take positions on the Israel and Gaza border during a Palestinian protest, Saturday, March 30, 2019. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have rallied at points near the Israeli border to mark the first anniversary of weekly protests in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli troops fired tear gas and opened fire at small crowds of activists who approached the perimeter fence. At least one Palestinian was killed and 24 protesters were wounded by live fire, according to Palestinian medical officials. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

This picture taken on March 30, 2019 shows Israeli Merkava main battle tanks stationed near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

(190330) -- GAZA, March 30, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Relatives of the 20-year-old Mohammed Saad, who was killed by Israeli soldiers' gunfire, carry his body on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, March 30, 2019. A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers' gunfire on Saturday predawn east of Gaza City, Palestinian medical sources said. Mohammed Saad, 20, was killed by shrapnel of a tank shell fired by Israeli soldiers which hit him directly in the head east of Gaza City, a spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, Ashraf al-Qedra, said in a statement. (Xinhua/Yasser Qudih)

Palestinian protesters run for cover from tear gas canisters fired by Israeli forces during clashes near the border with Israel east of Gaza City. Photo: AFP

Israel blames Palestinian militants for Gaza rocket attack on Tel Aviv

The aftermath of the rocket attack in the community of Mishmeret, north of Tel Aviv. Photo: AFP

TOPSHOT - A picture taken from the Gaza Strip on November 12, 2018 shows missiles being launched toward Israel. - A number of rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip toward Israel today, AFP journalists said, while Israel's army said an Israeli bus was hit by fire from the Palestinian enclave. (Photo by Said KHATIB / AFP)

US closes Jerusalem consulate, angers Palestinians

US President Donald Trump stoked international criticism by recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017 and moving the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv last May. File photo: Reuters

US ambassador to Israel David Friedman listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018. - The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)

News

World

Analysts say the change of government was made to further isolate Hamas, which has been at odds with the Fatah party of Abbas and Shtayyeh for over a decade


Analysts say the change of government was made to further isolate Hamas, which has been at odds with the Fatah party of Abbas and Shtayyeh for more than a decade.


Diplomacy

Israel

United Nations

Mahmoud Abbas’ loyalists dominate newly formed Palestinian government

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Analysts say the change of government was made to further isolate Hamas, which has been at odds with the Fatah party of Abbas and Shtayyeh for over a decade

Analysts say the change of government was made to further isolate Hamas, which has been at odds with the Fatah party of Abbas and Shtayyeh for over a decade