Palestinians gripped by turmoil

The Palestinian PM complains of not having enough powers

A series of emergency talks are being held to resolve a political crisis triggered by the resignation offer by Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei.

Mr Qurei's resignation was sparked by a spate of kidnappings in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met Mr Qurei for several hours on Sunday to reject the move again, following the prime minister's insistence to go.

Mr Qurei wants Mr Arafat to grant him more powers to deal with the worsening security situation.

A state of emergency remains in force in Gaza.

'Non-existent'

The militants said they carried out Friday's kidnappings - including that of a senior police chief and four French aid workers - to protest against corruption within the Palestinian Authority and lack of reform of security services.

Mr Qurei described the security situation in Gaza as "a real disaster, a real catastrophe, and an unprecedented lawlessness" - and tendered his resignation and that of his government.

I totally reject your resignation and consider it non-existent Yasser Arafat

Mr Arafat responded by announcing an overhaul of security - cutting to three the number of services from eight - a long-standing demand of international mediators.

But the appointment of his nephew, Musa Arafat, as public security chief sparked off protests by hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Saturday night.

Negotiations Minister Saeb Erekat said Mr Arafat had responded to Mr Qurei's apparent insistence to go: "I totally reject your resignation and consider it non-existent."

The Palestinian cabinet is to meet on Monday.

All this poses a serious challenge for Mr Arafat and many Palestinian officials fear they may be facing a period of prolonged political instability, says the BBC's David Chazan in Jerusalem.

But most commentators expect Mr Arafat to survive this crisis as he has so many others in the past, our correspondent adds.

Protests

During Saturday's protests, more than 2,000 Palestinians gathered in front of the Legislative Council headquarters in Gaza City and shouted slogans denouncing the new appointments, particularly that of Musa Arafat.

"We don't agree with your decisions and we don't agree with the appointments," they shouted.

Israeli press on Gaza turmoil

"It's not acceptable to fight corruption with more corruption. It's forbidden to change one corrupt man for another," said Samir Mashrawi, a member of Mr Arafat's Fatah movement.

Militants belonging to the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - an offshoot of Mr Arafat's Fatah movement - stormed and burned down a military intelligence post in Khan Yunis.

In a statement, al-Aqsa said it was a reaction to the appointment of Musa Arafat, whom they described as corrupt.

The group threatened what it described as more tough action if General Arafat did not step down.

But the violence and the tone of al-Aqsa's remarks are a sign of how grave the security crisis in the Gaza Strip has become, says our correspondent there, Alan Johnston.

They are also a sign of the depth and bitterness of the division within Mr Arafat's Fatah movement, our correspondent says.