Chief Palestinian negotiator quits

Rabbo denied he was resigning in anger

The leading Palestinian negotiator in peace talks with Israel, Yasser Abed Rabbo, has resigned in protest after disclosures of secret talks.

He said he was upset when it emerged at the weekend that parallel negotiations with the Israelis had been taking place in Sweden, without his knowledge.

In a letter to the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, Mr Rabbo said this was sending the wrong message to the Israelis - giving the impression that the Palestinians were not united in their stance.

"My resignation is final whether it was accepted or not," said Mr Rabbo.

He has been negotiating since September with his Israeli counterpart Oded Eran. They were aiming to conclude a framework accord that paves the way for a final peace by September.

Mr Rabbo told Qatari TV that Israel was seeking to create two different channels in the talks in order to manoeuvre between them.

"The Israelis want to look for any loophole," he said.

This is not an expression of anger

Yasser Abed Rabbo

Mr Rabbo said his resignation would strengthen, not weaken the Palestinians' hand:

"This is not meant to undermine of any of the participating brothers' positions, but there should only be one channel of talks.

"Therefore, I decided to resign in order to open the way for the channel... in Stockholm, so that this team will be the only one negotiating with Israel.

"This will eliminate loopholes and any attempts at manoeuvring."

Arafat still in command

The Palestinian negotiator said Israel was using a familiar negotiating tactic to win time.

"I have tried... to assure history does not repeat itself where there are parallel teams or parallel talks channels discussing the same issue.

Arafat is the guarantee of the Palestinian position

Yasser Abed Rabbo

"This will greatly harm the Palestinian stand and enable the Israelis, who are working in a unified and coordinated manner... to get what they want through deceit, procrastination and winning time."

Mr Rabbo stressed that his departure from the talks did not reflect on his loyalty to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat:

"President Arafat is the guarantee of the Palestinian position.

"I am saying this from my position as someone who knows the details of the Palestinian situation and its problems ...

"I am fully aware of the objections of this move. This is not a reaction. This is not an expression of anger. It aims to expose the Israeli position."

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.