Palestinian Authority announces a new Cabinet as it faces calls for reform

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian Authority has announced the formation of a new Cabinet as it faces international pressure to reform. President Mahmoud Abbas, who has led the PA for nearly two decades, announced the new government in a presidential decree on Thursday. None of the incoming ministers is a well-known figure. At least one, the incoming minister for Jerusalem affairs, is a member of Abbas’ secular Fatah party. Abbas tapped longtime adviser Mohammad Mustafa to be prime minister earlier this month. Mustafa is a politically independent U.S.-educated economist. He has vowed to form a technocratic government and create an independent trust fund to help rebuild Gaza. The U.S. wants a revitalized PA to administer postwar Gaza, however Israel has rejected that idea.