Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, a senior Palestinian source told Xinhua Chinese news agency.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Abbas accepted Fayyad's resignation, "but asked him to be an acting premier until the formation of a transitional unity government."

At a meeting between Abbas and Fayyad in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas initially rejected Fayyad's resignation and asked him to continue in his post. But at the end of their meeting, due to Fayyad's insistence, Abbas accepted the resignation and asked him to act as the premier of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) until the formation of a unity government, the source added.

A date for forming the transitional Palestinian unity government hasn't be set up yet. Azzam el-Ahmad, a senior official in Abbas' Fatah Party, said in earlier statements that forming a new government would need Abbas to issue a presidential decree.
El-Ahmed told "Voice of Palestine" Radio that Abbas will soon issue two decrees: the first one is on forming the transitional unity government; and the second on setting up a date for holding elections in the Palestinian territories.
Differences between Abbas and Fayyad have flared up recently, as Abbas insisted on bringing back the PNA finance minister, Nabil Qasis, who resigned from his post two months ago, said the source.