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

Rami Hamdallah, a former university dean, took office on June 6 after being picked by acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas to replace internationally known Salam Fayyad.

Abbas gave Hamdallah two deputies, one for political and one for economic affairs, apparently to make up for his political inexperience.

Hamdallah's office said on Thursday that he offered his resignation to Abbas.