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Palestinian PM's COVID-19 response gets high marks, but will it be enough?

Palestinians are generally very happy with the performance of their prime minister in confronting the coronavirus and can easily see him as president; the harder question is whether there will be a Palestine to be president of.
A member of Palestinian Civil Defence on a truck sprays disinfectants during a drill for dealing with coronavirus cases, amid concerns about the spread of the disease (COVID-19), in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC2BAG918TOA

Less than a year after being tapped for prime minister, the head of the Palestinian government, Mohammad Shtayyeh, who was sworn into office on April 13, 2019, was confronted along with the rest of the globe with an unprecedented crisis. Early evaluation gives Shtayyeh and his team high marks for their performance. The praise has been so overwhelming that it has led some to predict that he can potentially fill the shoes of President Mahmoud Abbas once the current 84-year-old Palestinian leader moves out of the political stage.

As soon as coronavirus cases in Bethlehem were confirmed on March 5, Shtayyeh acted with authority, discipline and care. The French television station France24 called the Palestinian prime minister the “star of the virus crisis,” detailing his actions and quoting praise from international experts. “They took action very rapidly and really took the crisis management function to the highest level,” Gerald Rockenschaub, head of the World Health Organization's Palestinian office, said in referring to what Shtayyeh did in response to the pandemic, according to France24.

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