The Palestinian Authority is in crisis today after Prime Minister Mr Mahmoud Abbas threatened to quit unless his party backed his tactics in talks with the Israelis.
Mr Abbas called off a meeting today with his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon after yesterday quitting the Fatah Central Committee - the backbone of the Palestinian Authority - over criticism from other members.
In his years as deputy to Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat, Mr Abbas has resigned or threatened to resign many times. Fatah sources that this time too, it appeared to be a ploy to get the Committee to back him.
The Palestinian militant groups, with the backing of some senior Fatah officials, have accused Mr Abbas of conceding too much and getting too little in return in his talks with Sharon.
They have criticised him for not pressing Israel harder for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
The United States rallied to his support: "We stand behind Prime Minister Abbas," State Department spokesman Mr Philip Reeker said. The US pushed for his appointment in April as an alternative to Mr Arafat.
The demand to free prisoners was tied to unilateral Palestinian truce declarations on June 29, but it was not stated as a condition, as Israel was not a party to the truce talks with the militants.
Israel refuses to free detainees involved directly in terror attacks, including members of the violent Islamic groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Mr Abbas is said to be concerned that if Israel sticks by its refusal, the two groups might cancel their three month truce.
A splinter group of Islamic Jihad yesterday claimed a suicide bombing on Monday night that killed an Israeli woman in a village near the West Bank. But the group's leaders quickly distanced themselves from the claims and said they remained committed to the ceasefire.
AP