Abbas accepts Hamdallah demands

Palestinian Authority's prime minister Rami Hamdallah on Friday withdrew an offer to quit a day after presenting it to the PA head Mahmud Abbas, a high-ranking government official told AFP.

"Hamdallah met Abbas for two hours in the PA president's headquarters in Ramallah and informed him he had decided to withdraw his resignation," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Palestinian officials and media had reported a "power struggle" as being the reason for Hamdallah's offer to quit, with the premier incensed by Abbas's decision to appoint two deputy prime ministers in a government that was formed on June 6.

"Hamdallah wants clear and defined powers as prime minister and for his deputies, based on the law, so his authority is not encroached on," the official said, adding that the meeting had been "positive."

The prime minister left the president's headquarters in a government convoy, an AFP correspondent said.

Hamdallah presented his resignation on Thursday, only two weeks after taking office, in the latest crisis for the Palestinian Authority.