Mustafa, who attended George President Washington University in Washington, is an independent executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is dominated by the ruling Fatah faction.
He has been the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, a member of the Palestine Investment Fund’s board of directors, and a World Bank senior executive. He has also advised the Kuwaiti government and Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.
Since 2007, sovereignty of the Palestinian territories has been split between Abbas’ Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza.
Mustafa was part in Gaza’s restoration efforts following Israel’s 2014 attack.
Palestinian analyst Abdul Majeed Sweilem told AFP that Mustafa’s nomination is an attempt to strengthen Palestinian institutions and “close some loopholes in the Palestinian Authority” at a time when Abbas is “under siege and pressure” from Israel and the US.
Mustafa is likely to be considered as “acceptable to the Americans because he follows a liberal approach,” Sweilem noted.
However, a political analyst and journalist Khalil Shaheen believes Mustafa’s proximity to Abbas restricts the possibility for significant reform.
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