RAMALLAH, July 9: Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas’ offer to resign from a key leadership post and the killing of a suspected militant by Israeli troops put further strain on the troubled peace process on Wednesday.

Abbas tendered his resignation from the central committee of Yasser Arafat’s mainstream Fatah party in a letter to the veteran Palestinian leader but it was unanimously rejected late Tuesday, sources said.

In a separate letter to the central committee, the prime minister challenged the organisation to outline a different policy toward the Israeli government and said he was ready to step down if his own line was at fault.

The resignation offer followed a stormy meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Monday, at which Abbas came under fire over his contacts with Israel, especially on the issue of prisoner releases.

As a result, Abbas postponed a scheduled meeting for Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The United States, which has sought to sideline Arafat and negotiate only with the more moderate Abbas as it pilots a peace plan known as the roadmap, reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian premier after his resignation offer.

“Our position is that we stand behind prime minister Abbas,” said State Department spokesman Philip Reeker.

“What we have seen under his leadership is ... constructive change ... empowerment for Palestinian governing institutions taking place, and his efforts to end terror and violence have presented a real opportunity to move forward,” Reeker said.

Palestinian sources told AFP that US special envoy John Wolf was trying to convince the Israelis to release more prisoners in a bid to bolster Abbas’ position.

Hani al-Masri, an official in the Palestinian information ministry, said Abbas’ resignation offer had brought into focus divisions within the leadership.

“It is evidence that there is division among the Palestinian leadership over how to run the negotiations and the political process with the Israelis and who wields the power,” he told AFP.

“But it is too early to say that there is a major ruction because the two sides (Arafat and Abbas) need each other.”

In another development likely to damage the peace process, a Palestinian died early Wednesday after being shot by Israeli soldiers during an operation in the north of the West Bank, a Palestinian hospital source said.

An Israeli military source for his part said a “terrorist” had been killed and another arrested.

The Palestinian source said Iyad Shalamish died several hours after being hit by fire from soldiers at Burkin, near Jenin, which also seriously wounded his wife.

The troops had come to arrest Shalamish’s brother, but he managed to escape, the source added.

The Israeli source said the “terrorists” had been preparing to carry out an attack in Israel.

It was the first fatal shooting of a Palestinian since July 5, as the violence has abated following the declaration of a temporary truce by Palestinian militant groups.

An Egyptian delegation which helped persuade the groups call a halt to anti-Israeli attacks arrived here Wednesday to shore up the truce.

General Mustafa al-Buheeri was leading the delegation, which is to hold talks with factions including Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Fatah during a three-day visit, said a Palestinian security official.

He began talks with Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and political chief Abdul Aziz al-Rantissi around lunchtime.

While Abbas’ meeting with Sharon has been put on hold, dialogue between the two sides was expected to continue at lower levels.

Public radio reported that Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian security chief Mohammad Dahlan would hold a new meeting of the joint security committee on Thursday.

The prisoners issue has so far proved to be the biggest stumbling block to progress in the peace process, with the Palestinians insisting that all of the estimated 6,000 prisoners in Israeli jails must be released while the Israelis have so far only backed the release of 350.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad made the release of all prisoners one of the conditions of the truce, but Israeli cabinet minister Tsippie Livni Wednesday said “we are not going to release prisoners who belong to extremist organisations and add to the number of terrorists circulating at will among the Palestinians”.—AFP