What would a new Palestinian government in the West Bank mean for the war in Gaza?

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The Palestinian Authority’s prime minister announced his government’s resignation on Monday, a move seen by many as the first step in a reform process demanded by the United States as part of its latest ambitious plans to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But it will do little to address the Authority’s long-standing lack of legitimacy among its own people and to improve its tense relations with Israel. Both points represent major obstacles to Washington’s plans for the Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to govern postwar Gaza before statehood is declared, if that ever happens. .

That’s assuming the war in Gaza concludes with the defeat of the Hamas militant group, an Israeli and American target that appears elusive nearly five months after the grueling war began, which has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians and brought the territory to the brink of collapse. the famine

Here’s a look at the government restructuring and what it means for the war between Israel and Hamas.

WHAT IS THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY?

The Palestinian Authority was created in the 1990s through interim peace agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, then headed by Yasser Arafat.

It was granted limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank and Gaza ahead of what Palestinians hoped would be the creation of a full state in both territories and in East Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.

But the parties failed to reach a final agreement over several rounds of peace talks. Mahmoud Abbas was elected president of the Authority in 2005, months after Arafat’s death. The following year Hamas won an overwhelming victory in parliamentary elections, triggering an international boycott of the Authority.

A power struggle between Abbas’s secular Fatah Party and Hamas turned violent in the summer of 2007, with Hamas taking power in Gaza after a week of street fighting. That reduced Abbas’s authority to parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Abbas does recognize the existence of Israel, opposes armed struggle and is committed to achieving a two-state solution. His security forces have cooperated with the Israeli military to combat Hamas and other armed groups, and his government has worked with Israel to facilitate the issuance of work permits, medical travel and other civil matters.

WHAT DOES RESIGNATION MEAN?

Announcing his resignation, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said new provisions are required to address “the new reality in the Gaza Strip.”

Abbas accepted Shtayyeh’s resignation and is expected to replace him with Mohammad Mustafa, an American-educated economist who has held senior positions at the World Bank and currently heads the Palestinian Investment Fund. He was deputy prime minister and economy minister between 2013 and 2015.

The appointment of Mustafa, a political independent rather than a Fatah loyalist like Shtayyeh, would likely be welcomed by the United States, Israel and other countries.

Mustafa does not have his own political base, and Abbas, 88, will still have the final say on any major measures. Still, the appointment would offer a picture of a reformed and professional Palestinian Authority that can manage Gaza, something important to the United States.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said it was up to the Palestinians to elect their leaders, but that the United States welcomed any steps to “reform and revitalize” the Palestinian Authority.

“We believe that these steps are positive. “We believe they are an important step towards achieving a unified Gaza and West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.”

WHAT DO PALESTINIANS THINK OF THE AUTHORITY?

Abbas’s popularity has plummeted in recent years and polls consistently show that a large majority of Palestinians want him to resign. The Authority’s security cooperation with Israel is highly unpopular, causing many Palestinians to view the institution as a contractor for the occupation.

Both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have persecuted dissent in the territories they control, repressed protests with violence, and imprisoned and tortured critics. Abbas’s term expired in 2009, but he has refused to hold elections, something he attributes to Israeli restrictions.

Hamas, whose popularity has soared during this and previous rounds of violence, would likely do well in any free vote.

But the most popular Palestinian leader by far is Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison following a 2004 terrorism conviction.

Hamas has demanded his release in exchange for some of the hostages it captured in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war, but Israel has refused.

Hamas has called for all Palestinian factions to form an interim government to prepare for elections. But Israel, the United States and other Western countries are likely to boycott any Palestinian body that includes the armed group, which they consider a terrorist organization.

DOES ISRAEL SUPPORT THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY?

Israel prefers the Palestinian Authority over Hamas. But although they cooperate on security issues, Israel accuses the institution of inciting terrorism, and in turn the organization accuses Israel of apartheid and genocide.

Israeli criticism focuses on the Authority providing financial aid to the families of Palestinian prisoners and Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, including militants who killed Israelis. Israel says these payments encourage terrorism. The Palestinian Authority describes them as social benefits for victims of the occupation.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Palestinian Authority should have no role in post-war Gaza. He asserts that Israel will maintain indefinite security control over the territory, while local Palestinian leaders administer civil affairs. Netanyahu’s government opposes the formation of a Palestinian state.

The United States has proposed moving toward a broader postwar agreement in which Saudi Arabia would recognize Israel and collaborate with other Arab states and a revitalized Palestinian Authority to rebuild and govern Gaza, all in exchange for a credible path to forming a Palestinian state.

The reform of the institution represents a small part of that project, which does not yet have the support of the Israeli government.

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Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.