New Palestinian PM retracts his resignation

PanARMENIAN.Net - Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has retracted his resignation on Friday, June 21 evening, after a meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, a PA official told the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The two met after attempts on Thursday night by Abbas' top aide to persuade Hamdallah not to resign were unsuccessful.

Hamdallah abruptly submitted his resignation on Thursday after less than a month on the job.

Despite confirmation from the PA source, an official announcement has not been issued yet, and Hamdallah did not talk to any of the reporters waiting outside the meeting, Ma'an reported.

Hamdallah, who until recently was president of An-Najah University in Nablus, offered his resignation even though Palestinians were still publishing advertisements in the media congratulating him and his new ministers.

A source close to Hamdallah said he submitted his letter of resignation to Hussein al- A’raj, director of the PA president’s bureau.

The source attributed the move to a power struggle between Hamdallah and his two deputies – Muhammad Mustafa and Ziad Abu Amr – who were appointed by Abbas.

“The prime minister feels that his deputies have been encroaching on his powers,” the source said. A senior PA official told Ma’an that Hamdallah had not clashed with Abbas. The real dispute was between Hamdallah and his two deputies, the official said.

Another PA source said that Hamdallah, whom Abbas appointed on June 2, quickly found himself in the same situation as his predecessor Salam Fayyad.

“Hamdallah discovered that the president wants him to serve as a yes-man with no powers,” the source explained. “Abbas wanted a prime minister who would play no role and only carry out orders from the president’s office.”