Abbas seeks stronger Palestinian mandate

The power struggle appears to be coming to a head

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has challenged his parliament to back him - or face his resignation.

In a speech to MPs, who are reviewing his first 100 days in office, Mr Abbas publicly admitted rifts with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat - and said they must be corrected.

"Either provide the possibility of strong support for carrying out [the mandate] or you can take it back," he said, while stopping short of demanding a formal vote of confidence.

However, a number of MPs have filed an application for a no-confidence vote but it is not clear whether it will be admitted.

Mr Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, called on the United States to lift its boycott of Mr Arafat - "the elected, legitimate, constitutional and historical president of the Palestinian people".

I did not and will not exert any efforts to keep this post - it is a difficult mission, described by many as impossible Mahmoud Abbas Excerpts of Abbas' address Analysis: Rift out in the open

Mr Arafat was not present at the meeting - he remains isolated in his Ramallah headquarters.

But his supporters forced the prime minister to enter the parliament building through a back door.

Some tried to force their way into the building. Masked men carrying swords and clubs spray-painted a slogan on the wall, "We want Abu Mazen's government to fall" and signed: the Al-Aqsa Brigades - linked to Mr Arafat's Fatah movement.

Truce blame

Echoing a similar line by Mr Arafat, the prime minister blamed Israel for the collapse of the ceasefire declared by Palestinian militants at the end of June.

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But he urged Palestinians not to give in to the "spiral of action and reaction" and not to take unilateral action that would undermine Palestinian national unity and further isolate their case.

Leading Israeli Government ministers consider Mr Arafat to be a "major obstacle" for the Palestinian prime minister and for the whole political process.

The PA government's efforts to control militant groups which launch attacks on Israel have so far been largely confined to measures such as freezing the bank accounts of Islamic charities with alleged links to Hamas.

Arafat supporters were keen to disrupt proceedings

Mr Arafat largely still controls the PA's security services.

And Mr Abbas wants greater control of the Palestinian security forces to be able to tackle armed groups responsible for suicide attacks against Israelis.

That, says the BBC's James Reynolds in Jerusalem, is holding up the international peace plan known as the roadmap.

Mr Abbas appointed Saeb Erekat as chief Palestinian negotiator in talks on the roadmap.

But in a further reminder that Mr Abbas has failed to rein in Palestinian militants, an Israeli was shot dead in the West Bank on Thursday morning, Israeli security sources said.

The Israeli was shot near the West Bank town of Jenin and died en route to hospital, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. It said the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and Islamic Jihad had admitted carrying out the attack.

Mahmoud Abbas was appointed prime minister after the United States refused to deal with Mr Arafat, describing him as a leader "tainted by terrorism".

On Sunday, US envoy John Wolf reportedly warned Palestinian officials that Washington would "not allow the fall of the Abbas government".

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