Top Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi quits PLO

RAMALLAH, (Palestinian Territories): High-profile Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi resigned from the Palestine Liberation Organization on Wednesday, calling for the "renewal and reinvigoration" of Palestinian political leadership.

Ashrawi was widely reported to have been frustrated with the Palestinian Authority's decision last month to renew coordination with Israel. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had stopped that coordination in response to Israeli plans to annex Jewish settlements and other areas in the occupied West Bank.

Israel later put its annexation plans on hold, in return for an agreement to normalise ties with the United Arab Emirates, announced in August.