RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas decided to fire all his advisers Aug. 19, regardless of their title or ranking. He also canceled all “the decisions and contracts related to them,” and suspended the rights and privileges they received in their advisory capacity.

Abbas’ decision, published by the Palestinian official news agency Wafa, made no mention of the reasons behind the move or the exact number of the fired advisers. But on the same day, Wattan news listed 10 advisers who were allegedly fired, most notably, religious affairs adviser Mahmoud al-Habbash, diplomatic affairs adviser Majdi al-Khalidi and legal affairs adviser Ali Muhanna.

Nabil Shaath, Abbas’ adviser for foreign affairs and international relations, told Al-Monitor that the president's decision is linked to the economic crisis that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is battling. “The number of his advisers has increased over the past years, so he sought to keep only a restrained group,” he said. “I asked the president whether I was affected by the decision, he said no.”

Kamal al-Sharafi, an adviser to the president for human rights and civil society, was fired. “I think Abbas’ decision comes within the framework of restructuring and rebuilding the overstaffed presidency institution,” he said.