Rami Hamdallah, 54, a linguistics professor and president of An-Najah University in Nablus, was appointed on Sunday as the new Palestinian prime minister, replacing Salam Fayyad.
Despite terming himself a political independent, many Fatah leaders consider Hamdallah “one of their own,” unlike Fayyad. Formally, he is supposed to head a transition government that will serve until the elections, but even the most optimistic scenarios do not envision these elections happening in the foreseeable future.
Hamdallah is familiar with crises. A decade ago, he experienced a personal tragedy when his wife and three daughters were killed in a car accident.
{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}
