RAMALLAH - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, a senior Palestinian official told Xinhua.

The official said on condition of anonymity that Abbas accepted Fayyad's resignation, "but asked him to serve in the post until the formation of a unity government."

He added that at the beginning of a meeting between Abbas and Fayyad, Abbas rejected the prime minister's resignation. However, the president accepted it eventually after the latter insisted on his resignation, and tasked him to be the caretaker of the current government until a new government is formed.