RAMALLAH – The Palestinian cabinet quit on Monday ahead of summer elections as the leadership sought to reaffirm its legitimacy after the collapse of talks with Israel and uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. The move, which has been on the cards since last year, was announced at a cabinet meeting in Ramallah and comes on the heels of mass public protests in Tunisia and Egypt calling for democratic reforms.
Shortly afterwards, Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad presented the official resignation letter to president Mahmud Abbas, who immediately reinstated him as premier and tasked him with forming a new government. “Abbas reappointed Fayyad and asked him to form a new govt,” a senior official in the president’s office told AFP, with a statement later saying its main focus would be to prepare for the forthcoming elections.
