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Show DAILY .HEKALD Sunday. September 7. 2003 Abbss Continued Palestinians will find it difficult to replace Abbas fromAl anonymity. Israel saw Abbas' resignation as a power vacuum to which it f ett compelled to act immediately against Hamas. "No Hamas official is immune," said Israeli Foreign Ministry official Gideon Meir, adding that "there will be other chances to go after Hamas leaders. In Ramallah, there was confusion throughout the day about whether Arafat had accepted Abbas' resignation and if he had, whether his decision was finaL The veteran Palestinian leader had told a large gathering of legislators arid Cabinet ministers that Abbas was now heading a caretaker government, implying Arafat agreed with his prime minister's decision. But he stopped short of confirming this in writing, as required by law. An Abbas confidante, speakv ing on condition of anonymity, said the prime minister told him he felt abandoned by all sides and was deeply hurt by the events of the recent days. sesAbbas told a closed-doo- r sion of parliament that he would not change his .mind. Reading from a prepared statement, he explained why he quit. Israel, he said, had not carried out its obligations under the road map, the United States had not enforced Israeli compliance and his detractors at home had constantly undermined him with "harsh and dangerous" incitement Abbas, who has a reputation for shying away from confrontations, was buffeted by stronger forces, including an entrenched and embittered Arafat, Israeli leaders who gave him little to show his people, and Palestinian militants who paid little heed to his calls for ending violence. 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Not valid with any other offer or on previously purchased merchandise, service plans, specialmaiVphone online orders, gift card purchases. Coupons may not be combined or used in conjunction with new account holder first day purchase of furniture. tExcludes Designer & Denim Collections. Selections vary. i iviuli iuii iruiix uu i umiuu 1 AVniLMDLX buelis um bav to II IUiiliUlIlLiilLJIIIiUiiiillAiJlilLiiilkkl 1 hand-picke- mm mm mm our Home Store and on hne Jewelry, supenor values, Ralph by Ralph Lauren, (OEOIOGV, Cosmebcs. Fragrances, Juniors' Moderate Derm & Pants, Men's, Juniors' & Kk)s' Designers, Lew's, Dockers, Slates. mstluUN fiV. iMi ' cials such as Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said that acceptance would only become official once Arafat has sent a let- terto Abbas. Abbas' departure would elimi-- 1 nate a pillar of the current peace effort, which rested on replacing Arafat accused by Israel and the United States of fomenting terrorism. Israel has made clear it will not deal with a new leadership by Arafat, but Abbas' apparent failure underscores how difficult it still is for a would-b- e Palestinian leader to operate without Arafat's sincere and full support. In a statement, Abbas only alluded to his dispute with Arafat, saying "the fundamental problem is Israel's unwillingness to implement its road map commitments and to undertake any constructive measures." If the resignation is not reversed, the leading candidate to replace Abbas appears to be , Qureia, who is seen as a moderate and has credibility with Israel because he was an architect of the 1990s peace accords. Like Abbas, he has little independent support in the Palestinian street. But as parliament speaker since 1996, Qureia is a more effective political operator, and he is seen as having better relations than Abbas with Arafat something which might hurt him with Israel but help him with public opinion. , SALE OR CLEARAKCE PURCHASE $50 a:";, by stronger forces, including an entrenched and embittered Arafat, Israeli leaders who gave him little to show his people, and Palestinian militants who paid little heed to his calls for ending violence. In part, however, Abbas' own nature compounded the already tough situation. Widely seen as a bureaucrat detached from the field, hamstrung by lack of guerrilla pedigree, and impatient with political trench war- fare, Abbas failed to rally the masses around his vision of peaceful negotiations. Abbas, who spent decades in Arafat's shadow as No. 2 in the Palestine Liberation Organization, handed the Palestinian leader his resignation Saturday after days of wrangling over his demand that Arafat grant him full control over the Palestinian security forces and, implicitly, a stronger hand against militants. At the end of a day marked by confusion about whether Arafat had formally accepted the resignation, there was uncertainty about whether Abbas would really go. Some thought the move was tactical, and suggested Abbas might return as head of a new government. Palestinian legislators said Arafat told them Abbas was now heading a caretaker government, implying the veteran Palestinian leader had accepted the resignatioa However, offi - VALID SUKSAX SEPTEK2ER & FRANK. J,,, (hi) lL, liil I 111- : He was buffeted mercilessly . cana enuE mm in MEIER I about. . plus & II a?', Ft pTTonn our Home Store and on fine Jewelry, Superior Values, Ralph by Ralph Lauren, K0L0GY, Cosmetics, ' Moderate Denim & Pants, Men's, Fragrances, Juniors' a Kids' Designers, Levi's, Dockers, Slates. Lauren convinced that Abbas really was quitting and that Arafat would accept his resignation. The Bush administration said it was determined to continue with the road map but didn't back down from its disdain for Arafat, whom it says is an obstacle to peace efforts. "At this critical moment, it is important that all parties consider carefully the consequences of their actions," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. The creation of the off ice of prime minister was a key turning point for the Palestinian Authority in the development of new institutions to serve all the people, hot just a corrupt few tainted by terror," he said. The prime minister must be supported by a cabinet com- - v mitted to fighting terror, political reform and rooting out if it His resignation stands is not necessarily a victory for Arafat, whose international standing is likely to ' slip even further, particularly if he is perceived as having engineered Abbas' ouster. Israel might be more likely now to make good on threats to expel Arafat. Justice Minister Yosef . Lapid, a member of the Israeli security Cabinet, said Israel has refrained from kicking out Arafat at the request of the United States. "Maybe the White House will have second thoughts now, and then we'll have to consider Arafat's presence again," he said. Abbas' decision to quit apparently caught the Bush administration by surprise. As late as Friday, Secretary of State Colin Powell insisted that . progress was being made in implementing the road map. In the hours after Abbas . submitted his resignation, stunned administration officials were uncertain that he would follow through. By afternoon, however, a State Department official said the administration had become more vau3SOaxseptek::er7 NO DISCOUNT after an Israeli missile a Palestinian house in Gaza City on Saturday. Ij $39 TEL AVTV, Israel The resignation of Palestinian Prime if Minister Mahmoud Abbas it stands leaves the Palestinians in a fix: how to find a successor who will be seen as nei-- . ther a toady of Yasser Arafat nor a tool of the Israelis and Americans? The list of candidates who might strike such a balance is short one possibility is parliament speaker Ahmed Qureia and the need to resolve the.cri-si- s is urgent. In a vacuum, Palestinian militants might step up attacks, and Israel could take dramatic measures such as the expulsion of Arafat. The developments bode ill for the "road map" peace plan championed by Bush and ac-cepted, at least in principle, by both Abbas and his Israeli counterpart, Ariel Sharon. The plan calls for an end to three years of bloodshed and establishing a Palestinian state by 2005. Abbas' four months in office served as sobering illustration of the challenges any successor would face in bringing that ERIC QAIUAROReuters Palestinian children head for cover Os) AXY : ASSOCIATED PRESS WRJTiR guy I Vacuum could encourage violence, calls for Arafat's exile ( mm I A3 ol Uritd ANDMBERANDFrWJKg-rfts.CO- MEIER & FRANK SHOP ONLINE AT MEIERANDFRANKgifts.com OR BY PHONE always something exciting A BAElQEac"4C1ITSU3IS:I r PLUS 7 YR1 00,000 s. mm MILE WARRANTY AND TIRES FOR LIFE! Xlf ST CUT Plumbers Smolm-frc- a BRAND NEW 2003 MITSUBISHI GALANT "T, ,, fykt Yt U M B I N O 4S WM tMvaralty mJmmmmmmmmmmmmlmlmmmmlmmmmmJ J ' J2pervWeji' III CUTIS KIIINT I 801.374.5111 I Z- jf- D |