RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday appointed senior Fatah official Mohammad Shtayeh as a new prime minister, according to the official Wafa news agency.
Shtayeh, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, will replace Rami Hamdallah, who tendered his resignation in January upon “recommendations ” from Fatah group.
Fatah argued that the move was taken over “intransigence ” of its rival group Hamas and “its refusal to deal with the national reconciliation government. ”
Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since the former seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 from Fatah after street fighting.
Born in 1958 in a village near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Shtayeh is a Palestinian politician and economic expert.
He served as a minister of public works and housing between 2005-2006 and 2008-2010 and head of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction.
Shtayeh holds a doctorate in economic development from the University of Sussex, UK, and worked as a professor and dean at Birzeit University.
