Palestinian Cabinet Ministers Resign

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, September 12, 2002

Palestinian Cabinet Ministers Resign

The Palestinian Cabinet resigned Wednesday after Yasser Arafat lost a showdown with parliament --the most serious challenge to the Palestinian leader since he returned from exile in 1994.

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The Palestinian Cabinet resigned Wednesday after Yasser Arafat lost a showdown with parliament --the most serious challenge to the Palestinian leader since he returned from exile in 1994.

Earlier in the day, Arafat had set Jan. 20 as a date for presidential and parliamentary elections in an attempt to defuse the confrontation with disgruntled legislators who accused him of making only halfhearted efforts to reform his administration.

The maneuver failed, and legislators insisted on moving forward with a no-confidence vote on the 21-member Cabinet.

Arafat now has two weeks to present parliament with a new Cabinet list.

In Wednesday's meeting, many of the Fatah legislators told Arafat they would not back the Cabinet.

By mid-afternoon Wednesday, 32 of 35 legislators had addressed parliament, saying they would vote no-confidence in the government. In all, 65 lawmakers attended, either in Ramallah or by video conference from Gaza.

Just before the vote was to begin, Cabinet ministers submitted their resignations to Arafat, who accepted them.

Source: Agencies

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