(AP/USA Today) - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas submitted his resignation on Saturday and Arafat reportedly named parliament speaker Ahmed Qureia [Abu Ala] to the post. On Sunday, Secretary of State Colin Powell flatly rejected the idea of further dealings with Arafat. "We did everything we could to support" Abbas, Powell said. "The major challenge we had, and he had, was that Hamas, a terrorist organization, would not stop its terrorist activities. And the Palestinian Legislative Council and Mr. Arafat and other authorities within the Palestinian community did not give Mr. Abbas the resources he needed in order to go after Hamas. We have to change that," Powell said. Powell said it was important for the Palestinian Legislative Council to give the next prime minister the political authority as well as the resources to combat terrorism.
2003-09-08 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive