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President Mahmoud Abbas accepted on Sunday the resignation of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. His quick exit highlights internal divisions in the Palestinian Authority that could upset foreign donors.

President Mahmoud Abbas accepted on Sunday the resignation of his recently appointed prime minister, Rami Hamdallah. His quick exit is feared as a potential setback to years of reform efforts aimed at improving the functioning of the Palestinian government.

The instability in Mr. Abbas' Western-backed Palestinian Authority comes as US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected back in the region in the coming days for a fifth time in some four months to promote what he says is a last gasp effort to get the peace process going.

Part of his plan depends on promoting economic development in the West Bank, but the negotiations deadlock has stoked concern about growing unrest and a buckling of the Palestinian government in the West Bank. That’s a reversal from two years ago, when the Palestinian government was being praised as ready to run its own affairs as an independent state.

"I wouldn’t use the term deterioration, but it's the beginning of a period of more difficulties and problems," says Ghassan Khatib, a political analyst at Bir Zeit University.

When he was first named by Abbas, Mr. Hamdallah was seen as a choice that balanced strong ties to the Palestinian president, but – like his predecessor Salam Fayyad – came with the credentials of a professional from outside the ruling Fatah party to calm the international donors who underwrite the Palestinian government budget.

The surprise resignation, first announced on Thursday, indicates stronger than expected pressures within the Fatah party to regain control over the premiership, which controls the daily government activities. Hamdallah reportedly quarreled with a newly created deputy prime minister from Fatah, Mohammed Mustafa.

The appointment debacle is liable to undermine donor confidence abroad, while the fallout will ultimately weaken Abbas domestically. More at http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/0623/Abbas-accepts-new
-Palestinian-prime-minister-s-resignation?nav=87-frontpage-entryNineItem

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