Palestinian cabinet resign

Members of the Palestinian Cabinet have resigned apparently to avoid being ousted by parliament in a vote of no-confidence.

The resignations came just moments before parliament was to vote on the Cabinet which was the result of a June reshuffle.

A majority of legislators speaking before the planned vote said they would not approve the Cabinet.

With defeat imminent, the Cabinet ministers submitted their resignations to Arafat, and the Palestinian leader accepted. As a result, the vote was canceled.

Arafat now has two weeks to present a new Cabinet to parliament, said the speaker, Ahmed Qureia.

It marked the most serious challenge to Arafat since he returned from exile in 1994 to take the helm of the Palestinian Authority. "There is a crisis of trust," said lawmaker Salah Taameri, a veteran member of Arafat's Fatah movement.

There has been widespread dissatisfaction with the Cabinet, with many ministers considered either corrupt or incompetent.

Arafat responded to the criticism in June when he added five new ministers, widely considered hard-working and honest, as part of what he billed as major internal reforms. However, the changes were seen by many as largely cosmetic.