Palestinian premier Salam Fayyad has resigned and dissolved his cabinet in a major political shake-up ahead of Palestinian elections to be held by September.
The move, which was announced during an early-morning cabinet meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, has been on the cards since the end of November, but was delayed by the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, officials said.
Immediately after the meeting, Mr Fayyad went to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to present him with the official letter of resignation.
Mr Abbas then reappointed Mr Fayyad as prime minister and tasked him with forming a new government after his cabinet resigned.
'Abbas reappointed Fayyad and asked him to form a new government,' a senior official in the president's office told AFP.
