Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa said at the opening of the weekly cabinet session on Tuesday that in light of the events taking place in the country, especially with the continued aggression on the Gaza Strip, the occupation’s targeting of the rest of the Palestinian territories, and what is happening in the region as well, we must always remember that the supreme Palestinian national interest lies in our unity first so that we can achieve the national goal of freedom, independence and return, and in the unity of our tools at this particular stage, and strengthening national immunity so that we can spare our people, whether in cities, camps or the countryside, the scourges of war and destruction.

The Prime Minister stressed that our people have many needs, especially in these circumstances, instructing ministers and senior officials to maintain continuous communication with citizens by intensifying visits to cities, governorates, villages and camps, learning about their needs, working to solve their problems as much as possible, and mobilizing as much potential and resources as possible for that.

Mustafa added: “We work together for the sake of the citizen, and we want all our national institutions to direct their efforts to serve our people, and God willing, these efforts will bear fruit. In the next phase, we want to double our efforts so that we can achieve more accomplishments for our people, our people, and our citizens wherever they are.”

The Council of Ministers stressed the continuation of efforts and international pressure to stop the occupation's crimes in the Gaza Strip and the demolition of residential areas and schools that shelter the displaced, in addition to intensifying efforts to bring in more aid shipments and lift restrictions on their entry.

In another context, and as part of the government’s efforts to provide social protection and enhance the resilience of needy families, the Ministry of Social Development, with the support of ANERA, began distributing aid packages as part of the “Winter Clothing” campaign, which meets the winter needs of about 10,000 eligible families, most of them in the Gaza Strip.

In another context, the Council listened to a presentation by the Minister of Social Development, Samah Hamad, on the communications and coordination that the Ministry is conducting with international partners to bring more aid shipments into the Strip, as well as the Ministry’s efforts in partnership with the Ataa Palestine Charitable Society to establish a closed shelter center in the Az-Zawaida area of the Strip, which includes providing a medical point, tents and food supplies to provide care for female prisoners released from Israeli prisons, as well as for a group of women who have lost their husbands or who suffer from circumstances and require special care.

The Council also listened to a presentation by the Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Ashraf Al-Awar, on the escalation of home and facility demolitions and the exorbitant taxes imposed by the occupation authorities on our people, and taking further steps to provide financial and legal support to enhance the steadfastness of our people in Jerusalem, especially the Al-Bustan neighborhood and the Issawiya Club.

The Council listened to a presentation by the Minister of Women's Affairs, Mona Al-Khalili, on the occupation's violations against Palestinian women, the briefing the minister gave to the special rapporteurs of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and meetings with representatives of international institutions, all of which resulted in international movement rejecting the occupation's violations. These efforts will be crowned with the presence of an international UN committee for the first time and at the highest level to investigate the occupation's violations.

The Cabinet approved the Memorandum of Understanding on the financial settlement of the Jerusalem District Electricity Company, which will contribute to solving the problem of net lending, especially the occupation’s deduction last month of about 100 million shekels to pay the electricity company’s debts from the clearance funds, and before that, 120 million shekels were deducted. In conjunction with the approval of the Memorandum of Understanding, memoranda of understanding are being prepared with the rest of the electricity distribution companies, which constitute about half of the net lending amount, while work continues to solve the problem of clearing with local authorities to solve the other half of the net lending problem. Completing this file is considered one of the most important reform steps adopted by the government and thus enhancing the quality of services.

The Council also approved the system of licenses and permits issued by the General Petroleum Corporation based on a specialized study of the needs of some governorates, in a way that meets the needs of the market to grant limited future licenses in coordination with the unions and in a way that ensures the transparency of the procedures for offering them through a public auction.

In confirmation of the government’s approach to accountability, enhancing transparency and improving the services provided to our people, the Council appreciated the Ministry of Health’s quick response in taking deterrent administrative measures against medical personnel who appeared in a video clip, failing to fulfill their duties in providing the necessary health care during working hours. This necessitated the Ministry taking preventive measures to ensure that such an individual incident does not recur in any of the health centers, especially since the Ministry is working rapidly to implement the initiative to localize medical services and enhance the quality of services provided to our people, despite the Israeli financial blockade and the continued deduction of clearance funds and the impact of this on the government’s ability to implement its development projects.

The Council appreciated the election of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation as Chairman of the News Committee of the Union of Radio and Television of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which includes 57 member states, and the importance of this election and the role played by the Corporation in conveying the Palestinian narrative and strengthening its presence.

In addition, the Council decided to reconstitute the National Committee to follow up on the implementation of the project to establish the national infrastructure for spatial information, which is responsible for collecting and displaying all information related to lands, their classifications, details and the circumstances of the spatial scene, as the committee plays a vital role in urban planning, environmental protection and agriculture.

The Council also approved the restructuring of the Palestinian-European Joint Committee, with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation chairing the committee, as one of its mandates is to enhance international and development cooperation.

The Council of Ministers approved considering Wednesday 12/25/2024 an official holiday on the occasion of Christmas for Western churches, considering Wednesday 1/1/2025 and Thursday 1/2/2025 a holiday on the occasion of New Year’s Day, and considering Tuesday 1/7/2025 an official holiday on the occasion of Christmas for Eastern churches.