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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appoints Mohammad Mustafa as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 14, 2024 in this handout image.

Palestinian president office/Handout via REUTERS

Who is Muhammad Mustafa?

Mahmoud Abbas, the 88-year-old president of the widely unpopular Palestinian Authority, on Thursday named Muhammad Mustafa as the authority’s prime minister. Given Abbas’s age, and the need for a successor as leader of the PA who can offer some credible alternative to Hamas as the political voice of Palestinians, Mustafa will now become the subject of wide international scrutiny.

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President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting in Ramallah.

REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Palestinian leader to make rare visit to Jenin

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas traveled to Jenin today for the first time in over a decade. Though the PA — formed after the Oslo Accords — is technically the chief security and administrative authority in the northern West Bank city, Abbas’ men have lost control of parts of the West Bank, including Jenin, which is now run by semi-autonomous rival military groups.

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Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the first Arab-Chinese summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

IMAGO/APAimages via Reuters Connect

Can China broker another Mideast rapprochement?

Mahmoud Abbas, the octogenarian head of the Palestinian Authority, doesn’t travel much these days. But this week he will head to China for a three-day visit and meet with President Xi Jinping.

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Will Palestinians get to vote?

The last time Palestinians went to the polls was in 2006, after Mahmoud Abbas replaced longtime Fatah stalwart Yasser Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority.But factional infighting between Fatah and Hamas (designated a terror group by the US and EU) brought the Palestinians to the "brink of civil war," Abbas said at the time. Discord over power, ideology and vision led to a bloody battle that saw Fatah expelled to the West Bank in 2007, where it has ruled ever since, while Hamas maintains power in the overcrowded Gaza Strip.

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Kushner: Palestine's Mahmoud Abbas is no 'great dealmaker or statesman'

Kushner: Palestine's Mahmoud Abbas is no 'great dealmaker or statesman'

White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, who masterminded the Trump administration's new Mideast peace proposal, had tough words for Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, accusing him of being more interested in "flying around" the world than running his government efficiently for his people.

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Kushner on Israeli annexation plans: not now

Kushner on Israeli annexation plans: not now

To understand Jared Kushner's comments in a broader context, here are a few things to consider:

What are the settlements? In the 1967 Six Day War, Israel captured the West Bank from neighboring Jordan, and soon after began setting up communities of Jewish settlers on this land. The West Bank is now home to over 400,000 Jewish Israelis, living in settlements among some 1.9 million Palestinians who, in turn, are not considered citizens of Israel and who must regularly pass through Israeli military checkpoints.

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Kushner to Palestinians: 'Put up or shut up' on peace plan

Kushner to Palestinians: 'Put up or shut up' on peace plan

White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, author of the Trump administration's newly announced Middle East peace plan, had tough words today for Palestinian leaders who immediately rejected the proposal. In a lengthy interview with GZERO Media's Ian Bremmer, he said that Palestinians have long played "the victimhood card," and that for the first time a "practical, rational plan" is on the table for them. Throughout the interview, Kushner hammered home his belief that the political power of the Palestinian leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas, has been greatly diminished.

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