Palestinian Prime Minister Asks for More Power

In his speech, which was to outline the achievements of his first 100 days in office, Abbas hinted at the split between himself and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, saying there were “problems” between his government and the Palestinian leadership, but blamed Israel for the recent disintegration of the cease-fire he negotiated with Palestinian militant groups in June.

“I don’t think that anyone in the world would disagree with me when I say that Israel is responsible for the situation,” Abbas said.

Abbas told the lawmakers that he can only effectively work with the Israeli government on the peace plan if he is given the full power to implement it.

He did not ask for a vote of confidence, which might have given him more of a mandate to continue his work. The United States was concerned that such a vote could go the other way, and end Abbas’ tenure. The council has scheduled a closed-door session for Saturday to discuss his speech, after which legislators could decide whether to hold a vote.

Thus far, Arafat has refused to hand over control of Palestinian uniformed police and three other units of the Palestinian security force. The United States has said Arafat stands in the way of the Palestinian’s promise to crack down on militant groups, as outlined in the road map.

Referring to U.S. and Israeli demands that the Palestinians dismantle the armed groups, Abbas said, “This government does not deal with the opposition groups with a policing mentality, but with a mentality of dialogue.”

He also said the United States has not done enough to stop what he referred to as “Israeli provocations” during a period of relative calm. Militants who took responsible for the Aug. 19 bombing that killed 21 people said it was a reprisal for arrest raids earlier in the month. In response, Israeli helicopters targeted and killed a senior Hamas leader, prompting Hamas and Islamic Jihad to formally call off the truce.

Abbas said his future was up to the Legislative Council.

“I am not attached to this post and I am not and will not make any effort to keep this post. It is a difficult mission that many describe as impossible,” he said.

Israel has warned that if Abbas is ousted, it will not deal with Arafat or negotiators under Arafat’s direct control. In addition, several Palestinian legislators told The New York Times that U.S. diplomats have said Washington might scale back its involvement in the region if Abbas is ousted.

Abbas’ appearance sparked a protest from about 200 demonstrators who shouted slogans in support of Arafat’s Fatah movement. Seven masked men eventually broke down a door to the parliament building, but left peacefully after being escorted by guards.