Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority
The West Bank is governed by a patchwork of authorities produced by the 1993–95 Oslo Accords, superimposed on nearly six decades of Israeli military occupation. The Palestinian Authority (PA), led by President Mahmoud Abbas since 15 January 2005, administers civil affairs in Area A (18% of the West Bank, containing the main Palestinian cities) and, jointly with Israel, in Area B (22%). Area C (60%, including all Israeli settlements, the Jordan Valley and strategic road networks) remains under full Israeli military and civilian control. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war on 7 October 2023, Israeli military operations, settler violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank have all accelerated sharply.
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) was born on 15 November 1935 in Safed, British Mandate Palestine. His family fled to Syria during the 1948 Arab–Israeli war and he later studied law at Damascus University and completed a PhD at Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University in Moscow in 1982. A co-founder of the Fatah movement in 1959, he was Yasser Arafat’s chief negotiator at the 1991 Madrid Conference and 1993 Oslo Accords. After Arafat’s death in November 2004 he was elected PA president on 9 January 2005 with 62.5%. His four-year elected term expired on 15 January 2009, but no fresh presidential election has been held since. He has ruled by presidential decree since then, extending his mandate through decisions of the Palestinian Central Council and extraordinary powers granted to the PLO Executive Committee, which he also chairs.
Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa
Day-to-day government is led by Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, a US-educated economist and former World Bank executive who took office on 14 March 2024, replacing Mohammad Shtayyeh after the Fatah government resigned in February 2024 under international pressure for technocratic reform. Mustafa’s cabinet is composed almost entirely of non-partisan ministers and has been recognised by the Arab League and the Biden-to-Trump continuity as a reform-oriented interim government. Its declared priorities are anti-corruption, security-sector professionalisation, reconstruction planning for post-war Gaza, and preparations for a yet-unscheduled election.
Fatah, Hamas and the Post-October-7 Landscape
The PA is dominated by Fatah, which lost the last genuine Palestinian legislative election in January 2006 to Hamas. After the June 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza and the Fatah withdrawal to the West Bank, the PA’s writ has been limited to Areas A and B of the West Bank only. Abbas has governed without a functioning Palestinian Legislative Council since 2018. Since 7 October 2023 Hamas’s political popularity has risen sharply even inside the West Bank; opinion polls by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research consistently show 60–75% of West Bankers wanting Abbas to resign and pluralities supporting Marwan Barghouti, imprisoned in Israel since 2002, as potential successor.
Israeli Occupation, Settlements and Violence
Approximately 720,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, governed under Israeli civilian law in parallel with the 3.3 million Palestinian residents under military law — a legal duality the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion characterised as a breach of the prohibition on apartheid. The 2025 Israeli cabinet approved the largest settlement expansion since Oslo, including formal cabinet endorsement of the so-called E1 plan dividing the West Bank in two. UN OCHA recorded 3,400+ settler attacks and 960+ Palestinian deaths in the West Bank between October 2023 and late 2025. Abbas’s security forces coordinate extensively with the Israeli military, a cooperation criticised by many Palestinians as “collaboration.”
| PA President | Mahmoud Abbas (since 15 January 2005) |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 November 1935 · Safed (age 90) |
| Prime Minister | Mohammad Mustafa (since 14 March 2024) |
| Last presidential election | 9 January 2005; term expired Jan 2009 |
| Last legislative election | 25 January 2006 (Hamas majority) |
| Party | Fatah; also chairman of the PLO Executive Committee |
| Area A / B / C split | 18% / 22% / 60% of the West Bank |
| Israeli settlers | ~ 720,000 (West Bank + East Jerusalem) |
| De jure capital | East Jerusalem (claimed); de facto: Ramallah |
| Human rights rating | Freedom House: Not Free (22/100) |
Frequently asked questions
Who rules the West Bank in 2026?
The Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas since January 2005, administers Palestinian civil affairs in Areas A and B (40% of the West Bank). Area C, including all settlements, remains under full Israeli military and civilian control. Day-to-day government is handled by Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, in office since 14 March 2024.
How old is Mahmoud Abbas?
Abbas was born on 15 November 1935 in Safed during the British Mandate and is 90 years old as of April 2026.
Why hasn’t the PA held an election since 2005?
Abbas’s four-year presidential term expired in January 2009. He has postponed successive elections citing divisions with Hamas (which won the 2006 legislative vote and runs Gaza), Israeli refusal to permit a vote in East Jerusalem, and — in 2021 — Fatah internal splits. Abbas rules by presidential decree, with decisions of the Palestinian Central Council and the PLO Executive Committee, which he chairs.
What is the relationship between the PA and Hamas?
After Hamas won the January 2006 elections and seized Gaza from Fatah in June 2007, the PA’s authority has been limited to the West Bank only. Multiple reconciliation agreements have failed. Since the Gaza war that began on 7 October 2023, Hamas’s popularity has risen significantly in the West Bank, while Abbas’s has fallen to single-digit approval in Palestinian polls.
What happens when Abbas leaves office?
No clear succession has been designated. Under the 2003 Basic Law, if the presidency becomes vacant the speaker of the Legislative Council would serve as acting president for up to 60 days pending an election — but the Legislative Council has not functioned since 2018 and its Hamas-elected speaker Aziz Dweik is constitutionally disputed. Hussein al-Sheikh, who Abbas appointed PLO Vice Chairman in April 2025, is widely seen as the front-runner inside Fatah.