Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad formally presented his resignation to President Mahmud Abbas on Saturday,a Palestinian official said.
8220;Fayyad met Abbas for half an hour in the president8217;s headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank and officially handed him his written resignation,8221; the official said.
Abbas and Fayyad have been at loggerheads as criticism of the prime minister8217;s economic policies has mounted in the ruling Fatah movement,but Washington has lobbied hard for the US-educated economist to remain in post.
Late Friday,US Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned Abbas to press him to find common ground with his Prime Minister,Palestinian officials said.
Rumours that Fayyad would either resign or be told to step down by Abbas have been rife in recent weeks after longstanding differences between the two men came to a head over the finance portfolio.
Fayyad held the finance portfolio as well as the premiership before Nabil Qassiss appointment in May 2012.