Palestinian Prime Minister to Resign............

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- The Palestinian prime minister said Saturday he submitted his resignation in a move that could help usher in a power-sharing deal between Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas and his rivals in the militant group Hamas. Salam Fayyad's resignation was meant to be a goodwill gesture toward Hamas, but the group's officials dismissed the announcement, saying Fayyad's appointment and time in office has been unconstitutional. Abbas appointed Fayyad as Prime Minister after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. The takeover effectively created two separate Palestinian administrations -- an internationally backed government in the West Bank led by Abbas and technocrat Fayyad, and a blockaded government in the coastal patch of Gaza run by Hamas....link