Arafat urged to accept Prime Minister's resignation

THE Palestinian authority plunged deeper into crisis yesterday when parliament called on Yasser Arafat to accept the resignation of his prime minister and militants kidnapped a senior official in the West Bank.

It was the latest in a series of abductions in the Palestinian territories.

Fadel Alshouli, head of tribal affairs department at the Nablus government, was seized by militants and taken to the Balata Refugee Camp outside the city.

The city's governor Mahmoud Aloul made contact with the kidnappers to secure his release and Mr Alshouli was later freed.

Mr Alshouli was the latest victim of kidnappings - most of them in the Gaza Strip - of officials with reputations for corruption.

Two top Gaza security officials were briefly held last week, part of a series of events that set off a political crisis in the authority.

Four French volunteer workers also were held for several hours in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis last week. All were released unharmed after negotiations with officials from Mr Arafat's Palestinian authority.

Earlier, the majority of MPs in the Palestinian Legislative Council voted in favour of a resolution calling on the President to accept Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's resignation, handed in on Saturday because of the security crisis.

"Every one of us is responsible," cabinet minister Qadoura Fares said.

"Arafat is the most responsible for the failure. President Arafat failed and the Palestinian government failed, the Palestinian political factions failed."

Mr Qureia's resignation followed the wave of kidnappings and violent demonstrations in the Gaza Strip over the weekend.

Mr Arafat reshuffled his security forces in an attempt to quell the violence, appointing close relative Moussa Arafat to head the Security Services, but the move further upset his critics leading to a new round of protests and resignations.

Mr Arafat made further changes in his security apparatus, but violence again erupted late Tuesday, when gunmen shot an outspoken critic of the veteran Palestinian leader.

Former Cabinet minister Nabil Amr could lose a leg as a result of the late-night shooting in Ramallah.