PALESTINIAN PEACE negotiator Saeb Erekat has announced his resignation. Mr Erekat has been widely vilified since al-Jazeera television, citing hundreds of internal documents, alleged last month that Palestinian negotiators secretly offered far-reaching concessions to Israel.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank has promised to hold long-overdue general elections by September, a surprise move spurred by political unrest rocking the Arab world and embarrassing television leaks about peace talks with Israel.
Hamas immediately ruled out participation, saying the vote was meant to divert attention from the scandal caused by the secret documents uncovered by al-Jazeera last month.
The Palestinian cabinet is also expected today to tender its resignation after which the prime minister Salam Fayyad will select new ministers at the request of President Mahmoud Abbas.
The shake-up was long demanded by Mr Fayyad and some in Mr Abbas’s Fatah faction.
“There will be massive change in the composition of the government,” one political source said. – (AP)