Palestinian PM offers government’s resignation

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah Friday offered his government’s resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas, the WAFA news agency said, in a move that could pave the way for the formation of a national unity government between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Hamas.

According to the state-run agency, in a letter to Abbas, Hamdallah said “out of keenness for the reconciliation process, I leave my and my government’s resignation in your hands as well as the time you see fit [to accept the resignation].”

On Wednesday, the West Bank government of Abbas, who heads the PLO, signed a reconciliation deal with the Gaza-based Hamas movement.

As part of the deal, the two Palestinians sides agreed to form a unity government within five weeks and then hold national elections six months later.

Angered by the agreement, Israel on Thursday suspended peace talks with the Palestinians and announced economic sanctions on the Palestinian Authority in West Bank.

The United States, the longtime broker of the Middle East process, Friday acknowledged that the talks between the Israelis and Palestinians had come to a standstill.