Palestinian PM Hamdallah submits resignation: source

RAMALLAH, Palestine – Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah presented his resignation to president Mahmud Abbas on Thursday, June 20, just two weeks after he took office, a high-ranking government official told AFP.

Hamdallah “presented his resignation in writing to the president following disagreements with his two deputies,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A separate government source confirmed Hamdallah had presented his resignation, citing a “power struggle”.

It was not immediately clear whether Abbas was likely to accept the resignation of the highly respected academic who was named to the position on June 2 following the resignation of former premier Salam Fayyad.

A new government under Hamdallah’s leadership was sworn in on June 6, which included two deputy prime ministers, Ziad Abu Amr and Mohammed Mustafa.

Upon accepting the job, Hamdallah pledged that his administration would rule only for “a transitional period” until formation of a unity government comprising Abbas’s Fatah faction and the rival Hamas movement, which governs the Gaza Strip.

Fayyad himself resigned in mid-April after months of difficult relations with Abbas which hit a crisis over the resignation of finance minister Nabil Qassis, which the premier accepted but the president did not.

Mustafa, who heads the Palestine Investment Fund, was tipped as a possible successor to Fayyad. – Rappler.com