Palestinian PM Hamdallah Withdraws Resignation

Local Editor

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Friday withdrew an offer to quit a day after presenting it to PAlestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, an official said, just two weeks after the government took the oath.

Hamdallah emerged from a "positive" two-hour meeting with Abbas, a senior government official said, having made clear he wants his powers - and those of his two deputies - unequivocally defined to avoid further power squabbles.

The prime minister presented his resignation on Thursday over what officials and media said was a "power struggle" that had already played out in the fortnight since his government was sworn in on June 6.

"Hamdallah met Abbas... in the president's headquarters in Ramallah and informed him he had decided to withdraw his resignation," the official stated, requesting anonymity.

According to sources close to him, Hamdallah had been incensed by Abbas' decision to appoint two deputy premiers in a government formed after his predecessor Salam Fayyad, a Western-backed economist, quit after a spat with the Palestinian president.
"Hamdallah wants clear and defined powers as prime minister and for his deputies, based on the law, so his authority is not encroached on," the official said after Friday's meeting.

On Thursday night a delegation dispatched by Abbas went to Hamdallah's home in Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank, to try to persuade him to go back on his decision, but failed to do so.
Hamdallah had been "upset over his treatment by his two deputy prime ministers, Ziad Abu Amr and Mohammed Mustafa, and their attempts to gain powers not assigned to them," another official said, also requesting anonymity.

"Mustafa was authorized by Abbas to sign all economic agreements, particularly those with the World Bank, without the consent of Hamdallah," he said.
Hamdallah objected, saying these were prime ministerial powers, the official added.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team