President Abbas asks the Palestinian Authority to form new government

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Palestinian president accepts PM Fayyad's resignation

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Saturday, the official Palestinian news agency said.

Fayyad had offered his resignation in a letter to Abbas following weeks of sparring over Fayyad's handling of the government and an economic crisis afflicting the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"The president told Dr. Salam Fayyad he accepted his resignation, and asked him to conduct the work of the government until a new government is formed," official news agency WAFA said.

Western diplomats had expressed dismay at the latest turmoil within the Palestinian Authority at a time when the United States is making a concerted effort to revive defunct Middle East peace negotiations and boost the local economy.

During a visit to the region last month, U.S. President Barack Obama praised Fayyad as a partner in peace, and Secretary of State John Kerry held private talks with the beleaguered prime minister this week, in a clear sign of support.

Fayyad, a former World Bank official, is widely credited with helping create the institutions needed if the Palestinians are to gain independence from Israeli occupation.

Widely admired abroad, including in Israel, Fayyad, however, failed to build a strong political base within the Palestinian territories, which left him vulnerable to attacks from Abbas's own Fatah party and the Islamist group Hamas, which governs in Gaza.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-world/20130413/US-PALESTINIANS-FAYYAD/

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The Obama administration recently announced it would resume financial assistance to the PA, which it suspended last year after Palestinians turned to the U.N. for statehood recognition and moved to reconcile with Hamas, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.

In a statement, Abbas, who is expected to leave Sunday for a trip to Jordan and Kuwait, thanked Fayyad for his service and pointed “to the exceptional achievements of the government in serving the national project and building the institutions of the independent State of Palestine in difficult times.”

It remained unclear whom Abbas would select to replace Fayyad. He might opt to assume the role himself. That’s the plan under pending reconciliation talks with Hamas to form a new unity government between the two factions, which split in 2006.

Under those talks, which are being mediated in Cairo, Fayyad was expected to resign anyway, largely because Hamas insisted that he not serve in the new government.

Another possibility is Muhammad Mustafa, head of the Palestine Investment Fund, the investment arm of the Palestinian Authority. Like Fayyad, he is a Western-educated former World Bank staffer and graduate of George Washington University.

Whoever replaces Fayyad may only be in the post temporarily if Palestinian leaders proceed with plans to hold elections for the first time since 2006. A new vote has been repeatedly postponed because of the split between Fatah and Hamas.

Earlier this month, Palestinian election officials said they had completed voter-registration work in Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-palestinian-authority-prime-minister-resigns-20130413,0,1831931.story