This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's Press Office (PPO) shows Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (left) posing with the newly appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, in Ramallah on March 14, 2024. (PHOTO / PPO VIA AFP)

RAMALLAH - Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Mohammad Mustafa formed a new cabinet on Thursday in which he will also serve as foreign minister, making an immediate ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza a priority, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Mustafa, an ally to President Mahmoud Abbas and a leading business figure, was appointed premier this month with a mandate to help reform the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

He was also assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of Gaza, which has been shattered by more than five months of war, while he performs double duty as foreign minister, replacing Riyad al-Maliki who had served in the position since 2009.

PM-designate Mohammad Mustafa formed a new cabinet in which he will also serve as foreign minister. He was also assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of Gaza

Abbas, who as president remains by far the most powerful figure in the PA, appointed the new government in a demonstration of willingness to meet international demands for change in the administration.

He approved Mustafa's cabinet with financial expert Omar al- Bitar as finance minister, and Muhamad al Amour, who served as the president of the Palestinian Businessmen Association, as economy minister. He kept Ziad Hab al-Reeh, former chief of the PA's internal intelligence agency, as interior minister, WAFA said.

The new cabinet, which includes eight ministers from Gaza, will also include a state minister for "relief affairs".

Mustafa said in a statement addressed to Abbas that the first national priority was an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the enclave, in addition to allowing humanitarian aid to enter in large quantities and reaching all areas, WAFA reported.

"In order to enable the launch of the recovery process and preparation for reconstruction, stop the aggression and settlement activities, and curb settlers' terrorism in the West Bank," Mustafa added.

The government's swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Sunday.

His appointment came after the Palestinian government, led by former prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, resigned in light of challenging circumstances amid the developments in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, as well as mounting pressure on Abbas to reform the Palestinian Authority and initiate the establishment of a political framework capable of governing a future Palestinian state in the aftermath of the Gaza conflict.