AMMAN: Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Tuesday announced the government’s resignation.
Government spokesman Yousef Al-Mahmoud told Arab News that the Cabinet will continue carrying out its responsibilities until a new government is formed, though he said he could not predict how long that would take.
The Palestinian Legislative Council was dissolved in December 2018, and legislative elections were ordered by the Constitutional Court within six months. No mention has been made of presidential elections.
Oraib Rantawi, a columnist with the Jordanian daily Ad-Dustour, told Arab News: “While many blame Hamdallah for not accomplishing reconciliation (with Hamas), which was in the hands of President (Mahmoud) Abbas, his big failure was in how he handled the social security debacle, which led to four months of demonstrations and protests.”
Abbas signed a presidential decree on Monday suspending the controversial Social Security Law.
Suheil Khoury, a member of the politburo of the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine, and its representative in Jordan, told Arab News that his faction “won’t participate in a government that will further increase divisions within Palestinian society.”
Hani Al-Masri, head of the Masarat think tank in Ramallah, said he opposes the establishment of a new government without elections.
Abbas “is responsible for everything while the government is merely an executive arm of the president,” Al-Masri said.
