West Bank: Palestinian Authority Swears In Its New Prime Minister

Rami Hamdallah was sworn in on Thursday as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority in a ceremony in the West Bank city of Ramallah, replacing Salam Fayyad, the internationally respected economist who resigned in April. Mr. Hamdallah, 54, a professor of linguistics, served as the president of a large West Bank university for the past 15 years and has no previous experience in government. He leads a cabinet of 24 ministers, eight of them new. The appointments include two deputy prime ministers considered close to President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority — Mohammed Mustafa, currently chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund, and Ziad Abu Amr, a legislator and former foreign minister — as well as a new finance minister, Shukri Bishara.