Prime Minister: 2026 Will Witness a Series of Additional Reform Steps

SadaNews - Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mustafa reiterated his commitment to proceed with the directives of the President to strengthen and govern the work of our national institutions, pointing out that 2026 will witness a series of additional reform steps. He added, "We are determined, God willing, to unify our national institutions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and to take all necessary steps to realize the Palestinian state that befits our people after all these tremendous sacrifices."

In the opening of the weekly Cabinet meeting today, Tuesday, Mustafa expressed the Council's appreciation and gratitude to all members of our people who have endured these unprecedented circumstances, specifically mentioning public employees who continued to provide services in various sectors, notably health, education, security, and justice. He also thanked private sector institutions, calling on everyone in both the public and private sectors to continue their efforts in serving our people, to achieve our national objectives.

The Prime Minister stated: "Since the President tasked the government about 20 months ago, our country has faced unprecedented tough circumstances, the most significant of which was the occupation's detention of clearance funds, which constitute the primary resource for the Ministry of Finance, alongside the continued prevention of workers from reaching their workplaces, in addition to many unilateral measures taken by the Israeli side against our people, including checkpoints, iron gates, and the disruption of our institutions' work, and our ability to conduct our work in a stable and normal manner. All of this did not prevent the government from fulfilling its duties, whether in maintaining a reasonable level of service delivery or in providing assistance to our people in Gaza or in the refugee camps in the northern West Bank."

The Prime Minister pointed out the government's implementation of a series of procedures in the field of financial and administrative reform and governance of institutions, alongside controlling expenditures and mobilizing available financial resources, where it succeeded in raising the level of political and financial international support for our people in light of the difficult circumstances surrounding us, and the government was able to stabilize our national institutions and continue to provide vital services as much as possible from limited resources.

Mustafa continued: "Among the series of reform measures, the Cabinet approved the national strategy for combating corruption, and adopted a number of laws and legislations to empower the judiciary and law enforcement institutions to perform their work and support them, considering this one of the government’s top priorities."

The Prime Minister emphasized that there will be no leniency with any attempts to exploit public office or public funds, and experience and evidence over the past months have proven that the government is serious about implementing this.

Additionally, the Cabinet condemned the occupation's withdrawal of the municipality's powers in Hebron concerning the Ibrahimi Mosque, deeming it a serious escalation and a violation of international law and the existing historical status quo, and a threat to the Palestinian identity, affirming its invalidity and continuing legal and international movements to confront the Judaization projects.

The Council strongly condemned the continued demolitions of homes and the displacement of residents from the Al-Nour Shams camp by the occupation authorities, affirming that these practices constitute a crime and a blatant violation of international law. It noted that these violations come within a broader context of systematic assaults, which exceeded 23,000 assaults carried out by the occupation army and settler gangs during 2025, marking the highest annual toll documented. The Council called on the international community to act urgently to put an end to these violations, ensure the protection of civilians, and hold those responsible in the occupation government accountable.

The Cabinet also condemned the occupation forces’ raid of Birzeit University today, breaking the main gate and opening fire and launching tear gas and sound bombs at students, resulting in injuries, affirming that these violations contravene all international norms and treaties.

In another context, the Council instructed the Ministers of Interior and Awqaf and the head of the crossings authority to work on organizing and resolving the crisis of travelers and pilgrims in coordination with neighboring countries. The Council also approved the purchase of additional quantities of certain medicines for the Ministry of Health's facilities.

Moreover, the Cabinet approved a system to determine the number of members of local authority councils to streamline the electoral process on clear bases and standards according to the classification of these authorities into four categories, wherein a municipality classified as (A) consists of fifteen members, thirteen members for a municipality classified as (B), eleven members for a municipality classified as (C), and nine members for village councils.

The Council also discussed the first reading of the law on the right to access information, which was prepared under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice and the Anti-Corruption Commission, with the participation of various governmental and civil institutions through more than 45 consultative sessions before it was raised to the Cabinet, alongside gathering the comments received regarding it on the legislation platform of the Ministry of Justice.

Additionally, the Council discussed in its first reading a draft law to reduce the use of cash, to address the accumulation of surplus shekels in Palestinian banks and institutions and to mitigate the risks of currency accumulation, alongside keeping pace with international developments related to enacting laws to regulate and reduce cash transactions and enhance the use of electronic payment methods.
 
As part of the government's efforts and its reform program to complete the file of financial settlements that have been pending for years, which started with water and electricity companies and local authorities, and in implementation of the Cabinet's directives in its session No. 81 dated 14.10.2025, which included completing the arbitration process in the financial dispute between the government and the "Ooredoo" telecommunications company, which is led by a specialized international arbitration company mutually agreed upon by both parties, and based on the recommendation submitted by the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the Council approved the final decision issued by the international arbitration company.

The decision mandates the company to pay a cash amount to the state treasury, in addition to providing another financial amount to be used in the development and rehabilitation of the telecommunications infrastructure in Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip.

It is noteworthy that the dispute arose from the Israeli side's failure to provide the necessary spectrum for operation and service delivery, delaying it for years in the West Bank, and completely blocking it, which has not allowed the company to operate 3G services in the Gaza Strip until now.

In another context, the Cabinet emphasized commitment to the system regarding the participation of public employees in the boards of directors of public and private institutions, ensuring expertise and specialization in the field and avoiding membership in more than two boards at the same time.