Mahmoud Abbas being interviewed on RT.

JNS.org – Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, who assumed his position in January 2005 and has been serving more than four years since his term officially expired in January 2009, has appointed Rami Hamdallah as the new PA prime minister, Ma’an news agency reported.

Hamdallah, who is currently president of An-Najah University located in Nablus, will replace Salam Fayyad, who resigned April 13.

Abbas and Fayyad, a western-educated economist, frequently clashed over the direction of the PA. Additionally, members of the terror group Hamas, which rules Gaza, despised Fayyad’s ties to the West and relationship with Israel.

Hamdallah, who has no prior political experience, has a PhD in applied linguistics from the University of Lancaster in the United Kingdom. He has served as president of An-Najah University since 1998.