The Palestinian Authority (PA) government’s premier Rami Handallah on Tuesday submitted the resignation of his government to the PA president Mahmoud Abbas.
The resignation came two days after the Fatah Central Committee recommended the formation of a new government.
Hamdallah said in a press statement following the weekly meeting of the PA government in Ramallah that his government will continue to perform its duties and assume its responsibilities until a new government is formed “hopefully as soon as possible”.
Hamdallah’s move is locally seen as a blow to the ongoing efforts to achieve reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.
The Fatah Central Committee on Sunday recommended the formation of a government made up of representatives of factions in the Palestine Liberation Organization and independent personalities after “reconciliation talks with Hamas have been thwarted”.
The proposal was rejected by the other Palestinian factions who called for a national unity government where all political parties are included.
The Hamas-Fatah political split started in 2007. All internal and external attempts at ending the division between the two movements have failed.
The most recent attempt was the 2017 deal which flopped following disagreements over the empowerment of the PA government in Gaza and the fate of the employees hired by Hamas after 2007.
In September 2013 Mahmoud Abbas appointed Hamdallah the prime minister of the Palestinian government in Ramallah.
Hamdallah in February 2014 formed a national consensus government with the support of all Palestinian factions including Fatah and Hamas.
