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Abbas offers to quit key Fatah postU.S. set to begin giving direct aid to Palestinian Authority
RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas offered to resign Tuesday from a key political body after a quarrel over how he is conducting peace negotiations with Israel, a senior Palestinian official said. The offer to quit the Fatah Central Committee came after Abbas postponed a scheduled meeting Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Palestinian officials said the committee unanimously refused to accept Abbas' resignation. The Fatah Central Committee is the leadership group within Fatah, the political organization of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Abbas fought a power struggle with Arafat before becoming prime minister in April. "I hope that [Abbas] will change his mind and withdraw his resignation soon," Fatah official Hakam Balaawi told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Abbas threatened to quit the Fatah Central Committee after he and other members argued over the issue of Palestinian prisoners, a senior Palestinian official said. Abbas' critics in Fatah want him to take a tougher stance with Sharon in his negotiations and with Israel on the prisoner issue. Israel is considering releasing some of the 6,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody, but many Palestinians want all of them freed. Members of one militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing Monday that killed an Israeli grandmother. They threatened more attacks if Israel did not comply with their demands for the mass prisoner release. Abbas' selection was seen as key to any movement in the peace process because the United States was not prepared to get involved in negotiations with Arafat, whom they accused of not doing enough to curb terrorist attacks on Israeli targets. Meanwhile, Washington is expected to announce as early as this week that the United States will begin giving its first direct assistance to the Palestinian Authority, two Bush administration officials said Tuesday. The announcement of the first installment of a $20 million payment would come after details on how the money would be spent are finalized, the officials said. The appointment of Abbas and positive developments in implementing the U.S.-backed "road map" for peace in the region has led the White House to consider direct aid payments to the Palestinian Authority, administration officials said previously. The road map lays out a series of steps Israel and the Palestinians must take with the goal of achieving two states existing side by side in peace by 2005. A highly placed Palestinian official said the postponement of Wednesday's meeting with Sharon is not an indication of a crisis. The official blamed "logistical problems," and sources said the Palestinian leadership was attempting to settle on a strategy for the next meeting. Disagreement inside Islamic JihadAn Islamic Jihad cell in the West Bank claimed responsibility Tuesday for the suicide bombing in the central Israeli community of Kfar Yavetz, north of Tel Aviv. A 65-year-old Israeli grandmother, whom Haaretz named as Mazal Afari,and the bomber were killed.
The militant groups Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades -- a faction aligned with Fatah -- have all signed a temporary cease-fire with Israel. Muhammad Al Hindi -- a leader of Islamic Jihad in Gaza -- said the group remains committed to the cease-fire and is checking the claim of responsibility. The United States and Israel consider the groups terrorist organizations. Some Israeli officials said the bombing showed that the cease-fire was worthless and called on the Palestinian Authority to dismantle terror organizations In Kfar Yavetz, police forensic teams concluded the blast was a suicide bombing after examining the condition of the bodies and finding explosive residue and a switch that could have been used to detonate a bomb. Police released no information on the identity of the attacker or why he had entered the home where the attack took place. Three of the woman's grandchildren, who were with her in the house, were slightly wounded, Israeli hospital officials said. CNN correspondent Jerrold Kessel contributed to this report.
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