Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Korei denied today he was thinking about resigning in the wake of what officials called a heated argument with President Yasser Arafat over reforms.
A senior Palestinian official said earlier that Mr Korei, who first threatened to quit late last year in a power-sharing dispute with Mr Arafat over the formation of a government, told cabinet ministers he was considering stepping down.
"Resigning? Why? I am here as the prime minister. I am not thinking about that," Mr Korei said after a meeting with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer in Berlin.
Describing an encounter between Mr Arafat and Mr Korei, one senior Palestinian official said: "A heated argument took place between them on Saturday following a decision taken by the cabinet to make security and financial reforms."
Another official said Mr Arafat rejected the cabinet move as an infringement on his powers and "an angry Abu Ala [Korei] told ministers . . . that he wants to resign and that he's thinking of quitting because he can't go on like this anymore".
The United States, the main sponsor of a violence-stalled peace "road map", and Israel refuse to deal with Mr Arafat, accusing him of fomenting bloodshed in a Palestinian uprising that began in 2000. Mr Arafat denies the accusation.