RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 13 (Reuters) - Salam Fayyad resigned as Palestinian prime minister and immediately resumed the post on Friday as part of a plan by President Mahmoud Abbas to extend the tenure of his emergency government, an official said.

Abbas formed the government last month after breaking with Hamas Islamists over their seizure of Gaza. With the state of emergency set to expire on Friday night, Abbas needed a formal reconstitution of the cabinet, which Hamas refuses to recognise.

"The prime minister has resigned and the president has reappointed him," Agriculture and Social Affairs Minister Mahmoud al-Habbash told Reuters. "Everything took place in line with the Basic Law," he said, referring to the interim constitution.

AlertNet news is provided by