Once again it appears as if the militants on the Palestinian side threaten to destroy moves toward peace. Plus “Hardline members of Fatah’s policymaking Central Committee, the backbone of the Palestinian Authority, have asked the moderate Abbas to step down as prime minister.” Arafat, in typical Arafat fashion, doesn’t seem to be providing any support for Abbas.
Palestinian Leadership in Turmoil After Bombing
Tue July 8, 2003 12:40 PM ET
By Wael al-Ahmad
JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas threatened to quit in a row with internal critics, a senior official said on Tuesday, after a suicide attack that rocked U.S.-backed peace moves.
The blast on Monday night that killed a 65-year-old Israeli woman in her home was the first suicide bombing since leading Palestinian factions announced a cease-fire 10 days ago in keeping with the new “road map” plan for Middle East peace.
A West Bank-based cell of the militant Islamic Jihad said in a statement it sent the bomber to protest at Israel’s refusal to free all but a few hundred of up to 8,000 prisoners.
Islamic Jihad’s Gaza-based leadership said it remained committed to the truce and knew nothing of the claim issued from Jenin after the attack on Monday.
Israel renewed demands that Abbas disband militant groups as outlined in the road map that calls for an end to violence and charts reciprocal steps leading to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.
Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the suicide attack showed the cease-fire was “not worth the paper it was written on unless the Palestinians dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.”
“If there is no cessation of terror and the dismantling of the terror framework, then we’ll do it,” said Gissin.
But Abbas’s ability to move forward appeared hampered by growing criticism over his handling of negotiations with Israel within Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah national movement, of which Abbas is a longstanding senior member. Hardline members of Fatah’s policymaking Central Committee, the backbone of the Palestinian Authority, have asked the moderate Abbas to step down as prime minister, leading him to fire off two letters to Arafat, a Palestinian official said.
One letter delivered his resignation from the Central Committee, the other asked Arafat and Fatah to outline their idea of how to handle the series of confidence-building measures required of both sides by the road map. “If he rejects their ideas, he will resign as prime minister,” a senior official said, adding that the internal crisis prompted Abbas to postpone a meeting on peace moves slated with Sharon for Wednesday.
PALESTINIANS ANGRY OVER PRISONERS
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, holding out the prospect of military action, told reporters that Israel “would continue to act against the (Islamic Jihad) infrastructure.” But he said Israel remained committed to the peace process.
“I believe the process must be given every chance to succeed, but at the same time, every effort must be made to provide security for Israeli citizens,” said Mofaz, a known hawk in Sharon’s cabinet.
Abdallah al-Shami, a senior Islamic Jihad official, said the bombing “was warranted by continued Israeli violations, the last of which the unjust discrimination of prisoners to be released.”
Shami was referring to terms set by Israel for the release of Palestinian prisoners that exclude members of Islamic Jihad and Hamas and others suspected of killing Israelis.
Palestinian militants have demanded a prompt release of all prisoners and an end to Israeli military incursions and blockades of Palestinian cities to allow the truce to hold.
The bomber’s charred body was found in the demolished house. (Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Mohammed Assadi and Wafa Amr)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3055572