(JNS.org) Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas 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 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 Ph.D. in applied linguistics from the University of Lancaster in the United Kingdom.