ALGIERS: Algerian Finance Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane was named prime minister Wednesday, the presidency said, following legislative elections earlier this month and as the country seeks to curb a deep socio-economic crisis.
“Aimene Benabderrahmane has been appointed prime minister and charged with carrying on consultations with political parties and civil society to form a government as soon as possible,” the presidency said in a statement.
Benabderrahmane, 60, replaces Abdelaziz Djerad, who had held the post since late 2019 and presented his government’s resignation last week, following early parliamentary elections held on June 12.
Djerad’s government had been unable to redress the country’s economic crisis.
Africa’s fourth-largest economy is heavily dependent on oil revenues, which have slumped in the face of the global economic slowdown.
Unemployment stands at more than 12 percent, according to World Bank figures.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who had previously expressed dissatisfaction with Djerad and his cabinet, thanked him for leading the government “during difficult conditions,” particularly the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Also Wednesday, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), which came third in the vote with 65 seats in the 407-seat legislature, said it would not be part of a new government.
The country’s incumbent National Liberation Front (FLN) won the most seats in the June 12 vote that saw just 23 percent voter participation.
The low national turnout has been seen as a sign of Algerians’ disillusionment with and defiance of a political class deemed to have lost much of its credibility.
Algeria’s long-running “Hirak” pro-democracy protest movement boycotted the polls.
Ahead of the official results, the MSP had said its candidates were in the lead in most regions and hinted it could be part of the government.
But following consultations with President Tebboune, the party said it decided to step back.
“What was proposed does not allow us to influence political and economic developments,” MSP chief Abderazzak Makri told a news conference in Algiers.
He said he had been asked to propose a list of 27 names from which the executive would select four or five ministers.
“It’s not up to us to choose our ministers (in the government) and that is unacceptable,” he said.
“We want to be in power and not its facade,” Makri said.
The MSP had been part of successive Algerian governments from 1996 to 2011.
Algeria finance minister Benabderrahmane named new PM
https://arab.news/nnx2p
Algeria finance minister Benabderrahmane named new PM
- Benabderrahmane, 60, replaces Abdelaziz Djerad, who had held the post since late 2019
- Djerad’s government had been unable to redress the country’s economic crisis
Israel police to deploy around Al-Aqsa for Ramadan, Palestinians report curbs
- The Al-Aqsa compound is a central symbol of Palestinian identity and also a frequent flashpoint
JERUSALEM: Israeli police said Monday that they would deploy in force around the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week, as Palestinian officials accused Israel of imposing restrictions at the compound.
Over the course of the month of fasting and prayer, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al-Aqsa — Islam’s third-holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed.
Arad Braverman, a senior Jerusalem police officer, said forces would be deployed “day and night” across the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and in the surrounding area.
He said thousands of police would also be on duty for Friday prayers, which draw the largest crowds of Muslim worshippers.
Braverman said police had recommended issuing 10,000 permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, who require special permission to enter Jerusalem.
He did not say whether age limits would apply, adding that the final number of people would be decided by the government.
The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said in a separate statement it had been informed that permits would again be restricted to men over 55 and women over 50, mirroring last year’s criteria.
It said Israeli authorities had blocked the Islamic Waqf — the Jordanian?run body administering the site — from carrying out routine preparations, including installing shade structures and setting up temporary medical clinics.
A Waqf source confirmed the restrictions and said 33 of its employees had been barred from entering the compound in the week before Ramadan.
The Al-Aqsa compound is a central symbol of Palestinian identity and also a frequent flashpoint.
Under long?standing arrangements, Jews may visit the compound — which they revere as the site of their second temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD — but they are not permitted to pray there.
Israel says it is committed to maintaining this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded.
Braverman reiterated Monday that no changes were planned.
In recent years, a growing number of Jewish ultranationalists have challenged the prayer ban, including far?right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who prayed at the site while serving as national security minister in 2024 and 2025.
