Palestinian PM Resigns
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Sept. 6) - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, increasingly unpopular and worn out by a power struggle with Yasser Arafat, submitted his resignation Saturday, dealing a serious blow to a U.S.-backed peace plan.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat left legislators in confusion over whether he had accepted Abbas' resignation.
Some legislators said after a meeting with Arafat that he had accepted Abbas' resignation but a government minister said the president had not yet announced a final decision.
''He (Arafat) said it was unfortunate Abu Mazen has resorted to this action but he did not give any statement indicating whether he accepted the resignation or not,'' Labor Minister Ghassan al-Khatib said. ''Other people may have misunderstood Arafat's statement.''
Senior Arafat adviser Nabil Abu Rdeineh said Arafat had ''not yet'' accepted Abbas' resignation. ''So far President Arafat is still studying the issue, and he's going to ... carry out a lot of consultations with the Palestinian leadership before giving his final word.''
Within hours of Abbas' announcement, an Israel missile strike wounded Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin. He was the highest-ranking Hamas figure to be attacked since Israel, frustrated with Abbas' failure to stop terrorism, launched a new hunt for militants.
Hamas officials said Yassin, a quadriplegic, was carried out of a building by his bodyguards after being lightly injured in the hand. Fifteen other people were injured.
Abbas' resignation leaves Israel and the United States without a negotiating partner, at least temporarily. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office warned it would not agree to Arafat heading the Palestinian government, and the Israeli justice minister said Israel may now reconsider sending him into exile.
Abbas, who was backed by Israel and the United States during his four turbulent months in office, told a closed-door session of parliament that his decision was final. In a statement issued later, he listed a number of reasons for his resignation, including what he said was Israel's unwillingness to implement its obligations in the ''road map'' peace plan.
That peace plan envisions an end to violence and the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.
Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen, read his statement, then stood up and left the plenum without further discussion, participants said. Lawmakers said Abbas was stung by accusations, including by leaders of the ruling Fatah party, that he betrayed the Palestinian cause.
If the resignation becomes final, Arafat would have three weeks to appoint a replacement, and in the meantime, Abbas and his Cabinet would serve as caretakers.
The U.S. State Department had no official comment, but the European Union dispatched its foreign affairs chief, Javier Solana, to the region.
EU foreign ministers meeting in Italy also agreed to broaden their ban on Hamas, outlawing its political offshoots, fund-raising charities and social welfare groups. It previously blacklisted only the group's military arm, Hamas Izzedine al-Qassam.
Sharon's office said in a statement that the resignation was an internal Palestinian matter, but that Israel ''will not accept a state of affairs in which control over the Palestinian Authority reverts back to Yasser Arafat or one of his loyalists.''
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom reiterated that Israel would not negotiate with Arafat. ''The man is part of the problem and not part of the solution,'' Shalom said in a statement.
U.S. Secretary for Homeland Security Tom Ridge, speaking in Italy, said the resignation would delay efforts to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.
''There was great promise there, great hope there, but (Abbas) was consistently being undermined by elements within the Palestinian Authority,'' Ridge said. ''Arafat has not been a partner in this effort, has not provided a path to peace.''
Hassan Khreishe, a Palestinian legislator, said it was possible the resignation was a tactical move. ''This could be either a move to increase pressure on Arafat, or to allow Arafat to reappoint him as prime minister so that confidence in him can be renewed,'' said Khreishe, of Arafat's Fatah movement. If Abbas were reappointed, it would allow Arafat to get rid of some Cabinet members he doesn't support, such as Abbas' security chief, Mohammed Dahlan.
International pressure could also help sway parliament members who were to hold a confidence vote on Abbas next week, with a growing majority having expressed dissatisfaction with Abbas' performance.
Abbas' resignation could end up being a blow to Arafat, even if at first it appeared the veteran leader had outmaneuvered his politically inexperienced prime minister.
Israel's defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, said earlier this week that Israel might have to expel Arafat before the end of the year if he keeps getting into the way of peace efforts. Justice Minister Yosef Lapid said the resignation might force Israel to make a decision.
''We have refrained so far from transferring Arafat into Europe or Africa or anywhere else. And we have done this on the request of the White House,'' Lapid said. ''Maybe the White House will have second thoughts now and then we'll have to consider Arafat's presence again.''
Until now, Sharon had held back on expulsion, both because of U.S. opposition and because of warnings from his security advisers that sending Arafat abroad would do more harm than keeping him relatively isolated at his West Bank headquarters.
Former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, an architect of previous peace accords, said Sharon shouldered much of the blame for Abbas' difficulties because of continued Israeli military strikes in the Palestinian areas. ''He (Sharon) made him (Abbas) a very weak leader in front of his people,'' Beilin said.
Abbas and Arafat have been at odds ever since Arafat reluctantly appointed the prime minister under intense international pressure in April. The latest standoff was over control of the security forces. Abbas, backed by the United States, demanded command over all men under arms, but Arafat refused to relinquish control over four of the eight security branches.
Abbas said he would not clamp down on militants, as required by the ''road map.'' However, being in control of all the security forces would have given 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 was not clinging to the job and would just as soon step down.
09-06-03 1152EDT
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press and Reuters. |
