Palestinian Authority PM, government resign

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh of the Palestinian Authority and his government have submitted their resignations, he said Monday.

Shtayyeh made the announcement on Facebook, stating he submitted the government's resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday and that he has now submitted it in writing.

"I believe that the next stage and its challenges require new governmental and political arrangements, taking into account the evolving situation in the Gaza Strip, the national unity talks and the urgent need for Palestinian-Palestinian consensus based on a national foundation, broad participation, unity and the assertion of authority over all Palestinian territories," he said.

"Therefore, I am placing the resignation of the government at the disposal of the president to take the necessary steps to serve our great people and the unity of our struggling forces."

The Palestinian Authority is the governing body of select areas of the Israel-occupied West Bank. The body once also governed the Gaza Strip until it was seized by Iran-backed Hamas in 2007.

The United States has supported an overhaul of the Palestinian Authority with the aim of it returning to power in Gaza, according to the U.S. Congressional Service.

This is a developing story.