Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in an attempt to defuse an unprecedented challenge to his authority was holding more talks with his Prime Minister, Ahmed Qorei, on Tuesday in a bid to persuade him to retract his resignation.
After street protests in Gaza forced Arafat to execute an embarrassing U-turn over his choice of security supremo, the Palestinian leader faced a battle of wills with his prime minister who submitted his resignation on Saturday after a spate of kidnappings.
Qorei refused to comment about his position to reporters outside his offices in the West Bank town of Abu Dis early on Tuesday.
But after a Cabinet session on Monday, he had confirmed that he regarded his resignation as still ”effective” even though Arafat has refused to accept it.
Saturday’s protests erupted in Gaza after Arafat appointed his unpopular cousin Musa as head of the Palestinian general security service as part of a revamp that saw the number of security services axed from eight to three.
He subsequently demoted Musa on Monday by naming Abdel Razzeq al-Majeida as overall security supremo with his cousin’s responsibility limited to Gaza.
Qorei said after Monday’s Cabinet meeting that a ministerial committee has been established to tackle the crisis in Gaza and will soon head to the territory to meet officials and factions there.
While calm has returned to the streets of Gaza, the political and security crises have presented Arafat with his biggest challenge since he returned from exile to the territories about 10 years ago.
One leading Palestinian MP, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Arafat is now on the brink.
”He has reached the edge of the precipice and it is a long way down,” the deputy said.
A new opinion poll published by An Najah university, based in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, found that 60% of Palestinians believed that Qorei is incapable of performing fully as a prime minister.
The same survey also found that only 23,9% believe the Palestinian Authority ”is capable of exiting the current political crisis” while just 28% said that they are satisfied with the performance of the Palestinian government.
The international community has voiced its concern about the unfolding crisis among the Palestinians and the issue dominated talks Tuesday between European Union foreign policy supremo Javier Solana and Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher in Amman.
”The need for calm to be restored in the Palestinian territories as well as the situation in Iraq was the focus of the discussions,” a Jordanian official said.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan also urged Arafat to bring matters under control quickly.
”It is a serious crisis with the prime minister at the centre of it,” Annan said. ”Chairman Arafat should really take the time to listen to the prime minister and other members of his leadership, and take the necessary steps to bring the situation under control.”
The UN, meanwhile, was expected to vote later in the day on a resolution calling on Israel to heed a World Court ruling to tear down part of its controversial West Bank separation barrier.
Arab nations asked to delay the vote on Monday in hopes of getting the EU, which was haggling about language in the largely symbolic measure, to back the resolution in the 191-member UN General Assembly.
Capping days of negotiations, the EU reached a consensus and presented suggested changes to the Arab bloc, which was to study the proposals overnight, diplomats said.
General Assembly resolutions are nonbinding but the Palestinians have said the measure will add to international pressure on Israel over the 700km barrier.
Israel, which says the barrier is vital to prevent suicide bombings, has already vowed to ignore the International Court of Justice’s verdict. — Sapa-AFP