Palestinian split threatens middle east peace

The split between Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Yasser Arafat, which threatens to wreck Mideast peace hopes, widened tonight.

Abbas threatened to quit as premier and resigned from a key body of the mainstream Fatah movement, reflecting the division over negotiations with Israel.

An official said Abbas sent a letter to Arafat warning he would step down as premier unless he gets clear instructions from Fatah over how to handle contacts with Israel.

Hakam Balaawi, a Fatah official, said Abbas stepped down from the Fatah Central Committee.

Fatah, headed by Arafat has been in turmoil over declaration of a unilateral ceasefire since last month.

Abbas called off talks tomorrow with his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon and offered to quit after he was denounced by fellow members of the Fatah Central Committee – the backbone of the Palestinian Authority.

The Fatah political movement is led by veteran Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, and observers say Abbas is constantly battling for credibility.

His standing with the Palestinian people has not been helped by being called a “partner for peace” by Israel and United States, whereas Arafat has long been associated with the armed resistance to Israel.

Fatah members have accused Abbas of conceding too much and getting too little in return in his negotiations with Sharon.

The meeting of Committee last night reportedly descended into a shouting match, after which Abbas sent two letters to Arafat – one of them offering his resignation.

Another top Fatah official said that Abbas’ move might be a ploy aimed at forcing recalcitrant Fatah members to agree to the way he is handling contacts with Israel, adding that Abbas was likely to withdraw his resignation.

He said these eruptions are common in Fatah. “They get mad, then they kiss and make up,” he said. “In Fatah it’s called the law of love. He will return.”

Balaawi said, “I hope that Abu Mazen (Abbas) will change his mind and withdraw his resignation soon.” Fatah officials were trying to mediate a solution.

Abbas has been Arafat’s deputy in Fatah, the largest Palestinian movement, for decades.

When Fatah declared a six-month halt to attacks against Israelis on June 29, it demanded that Israel release all of the 6,500 Palestinian prisoners it is holding.

Israel, which was not a party to the truce, agreed to free only a few hundred as a goodwill gesture.

The Islamic groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which declared three month truces, have threatened to renew their attacks unless Israel frees all the prisoners.

In a public appearance last week, Abbas promised families of prisoners that he would work for their release.

Arafat reluctantly appointed Abbas as the Palestinian prime minister in April, giving in to intense international pressure to share power.

Since then, Arafat has tried to retain as much leverage as possible, asserting his authority over negotiations with Israel.

Leaders of the violent Islamic Jihad group today distanced themselves from a faxed statement claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed a 65-year-old Israeli woman near the West Bank last night.

The statement threatened more violence if Israel does not agree to a mass release of Palestinian prisoners: “Release the prisoners or the consequences will be grave,” it warned.

It identified the bomber as 22-year-old Ahmed Yehyia from Kufr Rai in the northern West Bank. The village is just south of the West Bank town of Jenin, which is known to be a hotbed of radical militants.

Islamic Jihad’s political leader in the West Bank, Sheikh Bassam Saadi, said Jenin-based militants probably staged the attack in reaction to Israel’s decision not to release prisoners linked to the group.

But he stressed that “Islamic Jihad is committed to the (truce) and it remains so today.”

And Islamic Jihad’s top spokesman in Gaza, Nafez Azzam, also distanced the group from the attack, saying: “We have no knowledge about the claim of responsibility... and are still committed to this initiative and the truce. We stand by our word and our commitments.”

Israeli police said the Monday blast levelled a house in Kfar Yavetz, an Israeli village near the West Bank, killing the 65-year-old woman who lived there and an unidentified young man, apparently Yehyia.

The bombing is the first since Palestinian militants declared a ceasefire on June 29.

The last Palestinian suicide bombing killed 17 people on a bus in Jerusalem on June 11.