Palestinian cabinet quits as Arafat sets election date

In a rare internal challenge to Yasser Arafat's leadership of the Palestinian Authority, his entire cabinet resigned yesterday rather than face a vote of no confidence.

In Palestinian politics, where Mr Arafat's word has long been law, this was the most serious blow to his authority since his return from exile in 1994.

In a gamble to avoid the confidence vote yesterday – a gamble that did not pay off – Mr Arafat set 20 January as the date for elections, both parliamentary and for his presidential post. He is almost certain to win the elections because he still enjoys overwhelming support from the Palestinian people.

The matter on which the Palestinian Legislative Council was threatening to bring its no-confidence motion was that Mr Arafat had broken the law by appointing too many cabinet members, but in reality the Palestinian parliament was trying to assert its authority.

Until yesterday, the legislative council had been largely a rubber stamp for Mr Arafat's autocratic rule. Yesterday, it moved a small step towards being something more.