Palestinian Finance Minister Quits

The finance minister in the government of Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad has resigned without specifying any reason, a spokeswoman told Agence France Presse on Saturday.

Nabil Qassis, a former president of the Bir Zeit university near Ramallah in the West Bank, joined the government in May 2012.

His resignation, confirmed by government spokeswoman Nur Odeh, comes with the Palestinian Authority facing chronic budget difficulties labelled by ministers as "the worst financial crisis" since its creation in 1994.

The crisis is aggravated by Israel's refusal to transfer taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinians and non-payment of aid pledged by global donors, mainly the United States and Arab nations.