Steve Quayle News Alerts

September 6, 2003

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas submitted his resignation to Yasser Arafat on Saturday, Fox News has learned.

Arafat, the Palestinian president, has accepted the terms according to chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

The resignation delivers a critical blow to U.S.-backed efforts in the Mideast, adding more instability to an already ailing "road map" peace plan.

The unpopular Abbas, weakened by a power struggle with Arafat, submitted his resignation in a letter delivered by senior Palestinian officials, according to Erekat.

Israel reacted to the announcement by saying it will not accept a Palestinian government controlled by Arafat or one of his loyalists.

Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi said she met with Arafat after he received the letter, and that the Palestinian leader said he did not want to make a decision until he had spoken to Abbas in person.

"The issue should be not an issue of personal power struggles but a national issue on how to build a system of government that will empower Palestinians to deal with external challenges," Ashrawi told reporters at Arafat's West Bank headquarters.

Abbas has been frustrated by the constant wrangling with Arafat, his aides said. He was also hurt by the near-collapse of the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan and his inability to improve the daily lives of Palestinians.

The prime minister, on the job just four months, was to have met with legislators in a closed-door session Saturday to discuss the crisis with Arafat. It was not clear whether he would still attend the session.

Even if he hadn't resigned, Abbas might have been forced out. He faced a vote of confidence in parliament in the coming days, and there was growing dissatisfaction in parliament with his performance and his difficulties with Arafat.

Arafat's international standing could further be weakened if he were to be seen as having engineered Abbas' ouster.

Abbas and Arafat have been at odds ever since Arafat appointed the prime minister under intense international pressure in April. The latest standoff is over control of the security forces. Abbas, backed by the United States, demands command over all men under arms, but Arafat refuses to relinquish control over four of the eight security branches.

The prime minister says he will not clamp down on militants, as required by the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan. However, being in control of all the security forces would give him greater authority in renewed negotiations with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and renegades from his own Fatah movement.

Earlier this week, Abbas told parliament it must either back him or strip him of his post, saying he is not clinging to the job and would just as soon step down.

Abbas' resignation is a serious blow to the road map and, if accepted, would leave Israel and the United States without a Palestinian negotiating partner, at least temporarily.

Both nations have said they will not do business with Arafat, whom they accuse of fomenting terrorism and consider an obstacle to peace-making.

Israel's defense minister has threatened to expel Arafat. Israel's government has considered this idea in the past, but has been held back by U.S. opposition and by warnings of its security chiefs that Arafat could do more harm abroad than isolated at his West Bank headquarters.

However, the threshold for taking action against Arafat could be lowered by Abbas' departure.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,96607,00.html