Palestinian Interior Minister Hani Kawasmeh has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in the first crack in a month-old unity government, Palestinian officials said on Monday.

One official said Kawasmeh, who drew up a plan to reduce lawlessness in Gaza, had been frustrated by a lack of cooperation between Palestinian security chiefs.

As interior minister, Kawasmeh's role was to oversee major Palestinian security services but Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah appointed one of Hamas's main rivals, Mohammad Dahlan, to serve as the overall national security adviser.

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The issue of who would fill the roll of interior minister and thus control the PA's security forces was a major point of friction between Hamas and Fatah, and held up negotiations on the formation of the unity government for several months.

Some Palestinian analysts saw the appointment of Dahlan as a bid to sideline Kawasmeh and minimise his control over the security services.

Kawasmeh assumed the post just over a month ago as part of a unity government between Hamas and Fatah aimed at ending factional fighting. But tensions between Hamas and Fatah remain high and lawlessness has spread, particularly in the Gaza Strip.