Arafat said to accept PM resignation

Published September 6th, 2003 - 03:00 GMT

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, increasingly unpopular and worn out by a power struggle with Yasser Arafat, resigned Saturday. Arafat accepted Abbas' resignation, and now has three weeks to name a new prime minister, said three Palestinian lawmakers emerging from a meeting with the Palestinian leader.

Some other lawmakers, however, later said that the PA leader's response had not been clear. "He [Arafat] said it was unfortunate Abu Mazen has resorted to this action but he did not give any statement indicating whether he accepted the resignation or not," Labor Minister Ghassan Khatib said. "Other people may have misunderstood Arafat's statement."