Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Monday, February 26, 2024

US welcomes resignation of PA government, important step toward reuniting Gaza and West Bank

26 February 2024, 10:42 pm 19 Edit
This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's Press Office (PPO) shows PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh (L) presenting the resignation of his government to Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah on February 26, 2024. (Thaer GHANEM / PPO / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's Press Office (PPO) shows PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh (L) presenting the resignation of his government to Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah on February 26, 2024. (Thaer GHANEM / PPO / AFP)

The US welcomes the decision by the Palestinian Authority government to resign today as part of a move to reform, given uncertainty over the future rule of Gaza after the war.

“Ultimately, the leadership of the Palestinian Authority is a question for the Palestinians themselves to decide,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller tells reporters. “But we do welcome steps for the PA to reform and revitalize itself.”

Miller called the move a “positive and important step toward achieving a reunited Gaza and West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.”

The move comes at a time of growing US pressure on PA President Mahmoud Abbas to shake up the Palestinian Authority, which would allow it to take a greater role in ruling postwar Gaza.

International efforts have intensified to stop the fighting in Gaza and begin work on a political structure to govern the enclave after the war.

Hamas overthrew the PA in Gaza in 2007 and has ruled the enclave since.

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