RAMALLAH, West Bank – The Palestinian parliament passed a resolution Wednesday calling on Yasser Arafat (search) to accept the resignation of his prime minister and Cabinet, adding to a week of political chaos and violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The majority of lawmakers in the Palestinian Legislative Council (search) voted in favor of the resolution, saying Arafat should accept Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's (search) resignation, handed in Saturday.
"Every one of us is responsible," Cabinet minister Qadoura Fares said. "Arafat is the most responsible for the failure. President Arafat failed and the Palestinian government failed, the Palestinian political factions failed."
Qureia's resignation followed a series of kidnappings and violent demonstrations in the Gaza Strip over the weekend. Arafat reshuffled his security forces in an attempt to quell the violence, but further upset his critics leading to a new round of protests and resignations.
Arafat made further changes in his security apparatus, but violence again erupted late Tuesday, when gunmen shot an outspoken critic of the veteran Palestinian leader. Former Cabinet minister Nabil Amr could lose a leg as a result of the late-night shooting in Ramallah.
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