Government has noted with grave concern the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, the Foreign Affairs Department said on Monday.

"This significantly increases tension in an already volatile political environment and challenges the stability not only of Palestinian society but of the entire Middle East, which has been severely tried and tested in recent months.

"It's a great pity that Prime Minister Abbas has not been afforded the opportunity to improve living conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through progress with the implementation of the Road Map," the department said.

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said: "It is also regrettable that the prime minister experienced harsh and dangerous domestic incitement against the government since his appointment.

"His success in achieving a cease-fire which lasted two months was met by the resumption of Israeli extra-judicial assassinations as well as the continued construction of the separation wall and of new settlements".

Abbas' legitimacy was further undermined by the persistent practice of sidelining the legitimately elected president of the Palestinian people.

Moreover, the lack of external support for Abbas' strategy of integrating Hamas and Islamic Jihad into the political process - in an effort to ensure peace with Israel and avert a civil war in the Palestinian Territories - had weakened his ability to provide authoritative leadership that could garner the support of the people he represented.

"Successful implementation of the Road Map depends on strong, undivided and committed leadership, not least in the Palestinian Territories.

"The South African government therefore calls on Israel, the Quartet and the broader international community to refrain from driving wedges between the Palestinian President and the Prime Minister.

"For the Palestinian leadership to implement the decisions necessary for successful peace making, (President) Yasser Arafat must be recognised and respected as the legitimate Palestinian President, and his government must be supported in their decisions on how best to pursue the goals of the Road Map within the Palestinian society," Pahad said. – Sapa.