JERICHO, May 16: A political crisis loomed over the new Palestinian government as negotiations minister Saeb Erakat resigned on Friday, a day before a key meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmud Abbas.

The political crisis further jeopardised the already tattered roadmap for peace as tension on the ground remained high, with the Israeli army staging yet another massive operation in the northern Gaza Strip.

In a phone call to AFP here, Erakat, an MP for the city, said he submitted his resignation to Abbas. He refused to explain why.

Official Palestinian sources said Erakat resented his exclusion from the meeting with Sharon, while minister of state for security affairs Mohammad Dahlan and parliamentary speaker Ahmed Qorei were invited.

“Abbas did not pick Erakat for the meeting with Sharon, and his resignation is clearly the result of intense internal squabbling,” said a senior Palestinian official on condition of anonymity.

“Some people in the cabinet do not want to see him as negotiations minister and refuse to attend any meetings of the steering committee on negotiations if he’s there,” the official said.

The official said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat asked Erakat to withdraw his resignation, and there was no confirmation that it had been accepted.

Erakat’s walkout might only be temporary, but the unexpected crisis underscores the fragility of the new Palestinian government, which was formed after intense wrangling between Abbas and Arafat.

The 48-year-old east Al Quds-born politician has been a senior negotiator with Israel since the very launch of the peace process in 1991, but has frequently been at odds with the Palestinian establishment and often sidelined from crucial negotiations.

But as Israel continued to flex its military muscle and following defiant comments by Sharon vowing not to change his settlement policy, some Palestinian officials have argued Abbas would only be doing the hawkish premier an unnecessary favour by meeting him just before his trip to the White House.

Sharon’s four-day visit to Washington on May 20 for talks with US President George W. Bush is seen as crucial for the survival of the roadmap, which offers measures to bring an end to the violence and pave the way for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

A large number of Israeli troops backed by 70 armoured vehicles and helicopters were still sweeping areas of the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, a day after five Palestinians were killed there.

UN human rights chief Sergio Vieira de Mello denounced the Israeli raids in the Gaza Strip saying they could derail the fragile Middle East peace process just as it was about to get back on track.

According to Palestinian security sources, the Gaza headquarters of the national security services were completely destroyed, as well as the only pharmaceutical factory in Gaza.

Doctor Muawia Abu Hassanein, who heads Gaza City’s Shifa hospital, branded the demolition of the plant a “criminal act” and said “this factory was a vital piece of the civilian infrastructure and definitely not a military target.”

Israeli troops also shot dead a Palestinian man near Gaza’s flashpoint border with Egypt. The 23-year-old victim’s family said he was mentally ill.

FISCHER: German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said that he had great confidence in US President George W. Bush’s efforts to secure peace in the Middle East.