Palestinian PM Mohammad Shtayyeh steps down over Palestine 'genocide'

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and his government announced their decision to resign from their positions on Monday, saying that they have submitted their resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas due to the increasing violence in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza war, Al Jazeera reported.

He said, "The decision to resign came in light of the unprecedented escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem and the war, genocide, and starvation in the Gaza Strip."

Adding, "I see that the next stage and its challenges require new governmental and political arrangements that take into account the new reality in Gaza and the need for a Palestinian-Palestinian consensus based on Palestinian unity and the extension of unity of authority over the land of Palestine."

Shtayyeh, who has headed the Palestinian Authority’s 18th government since his appointment in March 2019, submitted his resignation at the opening of Monday’s government meeting in Ramallah.

His comments come as United States pressure grows on the Palestinian government to work on a political structure that can govern a Palestinian state following the war.

The Israeli army genocide in Palestine that began in October 2023 has entered its fourth month; the death toll has passed to 30,000 this week.

Shtayyeh, who has headed the Palestinian Authority’s 18th government since his appointment in March 2019, submitted his resignation at the opening of Monday’s government meeting in Ramallah.