The Palestinian Prime Minister has six weeks to name a new cabinet after he dissolved the existing one in what experts said was a response to anti-government uprisings in the region.

Salam Fayyad, immediately reappointed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who asked him to form a new cabinet, is expected to attempt to shore up support for Fatah in the new leadership in advance of elections planned for September.

Hamas, the terrorist organisation in control of the Gaza Strip, has already stated it will not participate in the vote.

Although a Palestinian Authority spokesman said the reshuffle had been discussed for “weeks, if not months”, both it and the decision to hold the much-delayed vote suggested concerns that the popular revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia would spread to the West Bank.