Beleaguered Abbas will not crack down on militants

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, weakened by his power struggle with Yasser Arafat, addressed parliament today in a quest for support and told MPs he would not launch a crackdown on militants.

In an angry demonstration outside the parliament building in the West Bank town of Ramallah, about 200 activists in Arafat’s Fatah movement promised to defend the veteran Palestinian leader.

Seven masked men from the crowd broke down a door to the building and smashed windows. Unarmed guards eventually forced the men out.

Just before the session, Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli in a shooting ambush near the West Bank town of Jenin.