Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, October 10, 2003
Qurei withdraws resignation: official sources
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, or Abu Alla, who dropped earlier on Thursday a resignation letter to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, withdrew it later, official sources said Friday.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, or Abu Alla, who dropped earlier on Thursday a resignation letter to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, withdrew it later, official sources said Friday.
The sources at Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah said that Arafat asked Qurei to pull out his resignation letter because he trusts him and his cabinet and can never accept Abu Alla's resignation in such critical circumstances.
Qurei presented to Arafat a written letter late Thursday, saying that he is resigning in the wake of the differences emerged earlier and caused to the postponement of a session of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) scheduled to be held on Thursday to approve Abu Alla's cabinet.
The sources said that Arafat, who suffers from stomach pains, refused to accept Abu Alla's resignation and urged him to continue being in his position as the prime minister.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a top aide to Arafat said that Arafat would never accept Abu Alla's resignation as a prime minister, adding that Abu Alla and his cabinet are still gaining the trust of President Arafat.
The sources said that the mainstream Fatah movement's central committee convened at midnight Thursday to study the situation and look at the reasons behind Qurei's resignation.
The Fatah committee had practiced pressure on Qurei to pull out his resignation, and to continue with the mission he was offered by Arafat. Qureia also attended Fatah central committee meeting chaired by Arafat.