Arafat Threatens To Resign If Pressured To Accept Israeli Land Offer

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has threatened to resign if the United States pressures him to accept Israel’s skimpy territorial offer, aides said Wednesday, underscoring Palestinian gloom over the stymied peace process.

It was not clear how serious Arafat’s threat was or if he was simply using it as a negotiating tool. Arafat has not groomed a successor and his resignation would likely bring the peace process to a complete halt - a scenario the United States would not want to see happen.

In a blow to U.S. efforts to revive the process, Arafat also rejected a U.S. proposal for Israel to withdraw troops from West Bank land in very small steps, each followed by Palestinian compliance with Israel’s demands on security and other issues.

‘Abourdeneh appeared to contradict U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin, who said earlier this week that Israel and the Palestinians had accepted the U.S. proposal in principle.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was considering the plan.