Palestinian rift out in the open

By James Reynolds BBC Middle East correspondent, Ramallah

It was a chaotic arrival for the man who is in political trouble.

Mahmoud Abbas and his bodyguards had to push their way through crowds of demonstrators outside the council building in Ramallah.

Some were in no mood to listen to Abu Mazen

Protesters were there to back his rival, the Palestinian leader stuck in his compound just a few streets away.

They were carrying Yasser Arafat photos and trying to get into the Palestinian legislative council.

It looked as if people were trying to break down the doors. One or two in the crowd were in masks.

I saw one or two even with swords - all trying to get in and breaking the glass in the windows.

Weakening Arafat will weaken Abu Mazen. Weakening Abu Mazen will weaken Arafat Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat

Once inside, Mr Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen, began his speech. He had a clear message for lawmakers: "Support me or get rid of me."

Elias Zamaniri, a spokesman for the security ministry, told me: "The prime minister needs every kind of power that falls under the jurisdiction of the prime minister everywhere.

"He has to be in charge of everything; all the lines should be drawn between what kind of authorities he has and what kind of powers he may or may not have."

Would that happen, I asked.

"I don't know, ask Arafat," Mr Zamaniri replied.

Strange loyalty

Lawmakers will now have to work on some kind of compromise. Those at the top warn that you cannot just play one man off against the other.

"Mark my words, weakening Arafat will weaken Abu Mazen. Weakening Abu Mazen will weaken Arafat," said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Will the hopes for peace be shattered if Abu Mazen goes?

"Anybody who tries to play outside this equation is making a strategic mistake. They have been together for the last 42 years.

"There is no-one with more loyalty to Abu Mazen than Arafat and no-one more loyal to Arafat than Abu Mazen, that's the truth."

But right now it would seem that the two men have a fairly strange way of demonstrating this loyalty.

Betting on Abu Mazen

Their argument is in the open. And ministers have been forced to acknowledge it, albeit as diplomatically as possible.

"There is a difficulty of moving from a purely presidential system into a mixed presidential parliamentary system at a time when the elected president is under siege, is under incarceration and where the whole country is under occupation," said Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath.

"I think such a situation does not call necessarily for power struggle. It calls for confusion about the lines of authority and responsibility, which lead to problems."

After the council meeting ended, two silver jeeps drove into Ramallah.

They brought the US road map envoy John Wolf into town to check on the man the White House is betting on - Abu Mazen.

His fate and that of the road map are tied together. The concern among mediators: if he gets fed up and goes, the road map may go with him.