Close-up
Palestinian legislators want shake-up

By Mohammed Daraghmeh
The Associated Press

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RAMALLAH, West Bank —

The pressure on Yasser Arafat increased yesterday with a resolution by the Palestinian Legislative Council — which has rarely raised its voice against Arafat — calling on him to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and form a new Cabinet better equipped to deal with the internal turmoil.

Although Arafat's position as the undisputed Palestinian leader did not appear to be in jeopardy, it was unusual for political figures to defy his will in such open terms, and reflected the dismay among Palestinians over the breakdown of order in the Palestinian territories.

Unrest spread from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, with the abduction yesterday of an official of the local government in the city of Nablus and the shooting Tuesday night of a prominent critic of Arafat in Ramallah.

Qureia, finding himself powerless to deal with a wave of demonstrations and kidnappings in Gaza last week because of Arafat's monopoly of power, submitted his resignation over the weekend, but Arafat rejected it.

The two men remain deadlocked, but Qureia has said he now sees himself only as a caretaker.

Backing Qureia, parliament speaker Rauhi Fattouh said legislators were considering holding a monthlong strike or a weeklong sit-in to protest Arafat's refusal to grant more authority to the Cabinet and parliament.

At the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan also urged the Palestinian leader yesterday to empower his prime minister and interior minister to carry out essential reforms in the Palestinian Authority, especially in the security sector.

Khaled Mashaal, the Syria-based head of the Hamas militant movement, which has a wide following in Gaza but has sat quietly during the past week of chaos, telephoned Arafat yesterday to urge him to restore calm.
 
In Nablus, militants seized Fadel Alshouli, head of the tribal-affairs department at the local government, and took him to the Balata Refugee Camp outside the city, said the aide, Anan Ateeri.

The governor, Mahmoud Aloul, contacted the kidnappers and secured his release after two hours. It was not clear if the kidnappers made any concrete demands, or whether the abduction was a form of protest by young militants against the Palestinian establishment.

The legislature's resolution followed the shooting of Nabil Amr, a former Cabinet minister and outspoken critic of Arafat's management of the Palestinian Authority. Amr was hit by two bullets and seriously wounded by a gunman firing from the open balcony of his home in Ramallah, said his son Tareq. The gunman escaped.