The Hamas movement said Monday that the resignation of the Palestinian government lacks any meaning and bears no reform or change. Earlier on Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad delivered the government's resignation letter to President Mahmoud Abbas. 
 
 Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that "no matter how this government changes its skin – it shall always be illegal as it is not the people's choice." He called on the Palestinian people and the international community not to cooperate with the new cabinet. (Elior Levy) 

 JERUSALEM—Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas instructed his prime minister Monday to form a new cabinet, a step to prepare for elections called in response to democratic uprisings sweeping the Arab world. 
 
 The cabinet shake-up and Saturday's unexpected announcement of long-postponed elections came quickly after the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Mr. Abbas's strongest regional supporter, left his West Bank-based government appearing more vulnerable. Officials said the elections for president and parliament would be held by September despite the refusal of Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, to take part. 
 
 Mr. Abbas was already on the defensive ... 

 The Palestinian Authority cabinet has resigned in a move seen by some as a response to calls for democratic reform echoing around the Middle East. 
 
 The prime minister, Salam Fayyad, tendered the cabinet's resignation to the PA president, Mahmoud Abbas, and is expected to form a new team of ministers within a few weeks. 
 
 The move follows the announcement at the weekend that long-delayed general elections will be held by September. Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip and which welcomed the fall of Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, said it would not take part in the elections nor recognise their outcome. 
 
 Fayyad, the unelected prime minister of the PA, is respected by the west for implementing a programme of reforms and state-building measures in the West Bank. He is thought to be keen to form a cabinet dominated by technocrats. 
 
 After Mubarak's departure on Friday, there were street celebrations in Ramallah, the West Bank's main hub, in solidarity with Egyptian protesters. 
 
 Elections have not been held since January 2006, when Hamas won an overall majority. Abbas's term as president expired two years ago. He has not declared whether he will be a candidate in the elections this year, but has repeatedly threatened to quit in the past. 
 
 Many ordinary Palestinians complain of increased repression in the West Bank, including the intimidation, detention and torture of political dissenters. 
 
 Hanan Ashwari, a veteran Palestinian legislator and member of Fayyad's Third Way party, rejected the idea that the cabinet's resignation was connected to events in Egypt. 
 
 "This has been in the making for some time, so it would be a mistake to overload the timing with significance," she said. "This has nothing to do with Egypt. The delay was due to technical problems." 
 
 She said Fayyad wanted a cabinet of "qualified, professional people" to oversee elections and assist in building institutions in preparation for a Palestinian state. 
 
 The PA, which is dominated by the Fatah political faction, has limited rule in the West Bank. Israeli military and civil authorities control about 60% of the territory. 
 
 Since Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007, 18 months after winning the elections, there has been a split between the two territories and their dominant political factions. Hamas accuses the Fatah-led PA of assisting Israel's economic stranglehold of Gaza. 
 
 Meanwhile, Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator who handed in his resignation on Saturday following the leak of thousands of documents from his office, cancelled a press conference to explain his move.
– Taking a step on the path toward new elections, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas today called on his prime minister to assemble a new cabinet. Officials said presidential and parliamentary elections would take place by September, though Hamas says it won't take part, the Wall Street Journal reports. The announcement quickly followed the departure of Hosni Mubarak, the government’s most powerful ally, and some see it as a reaction to the wave of pro-democracy movements, the Guardian notes. The current cabinet resigned today, with Abbas calling on the prime minister to build a new cabinet with “the broadest representation possible” among Palestine’s political movements, said a government rep. “We are making this important move not because we are afraid of an uprising, but because our people are ready for elections,” said an official. Hamas says the shift means nothing, notes Ynetnews. “No matter how this government changes its skin—it shall always be illegal as it is not the people's choice."