RAMALLAH, West Bank, 21 September 2005 — Palestinian Premier Ahmed Qorei said yesterday he was willing to resign over the growing state of lawlessness in the Palestinian areas. Speaking six days before a scheduled vote in the Palestinian Legislative Council on a motion of no confidence in his government, Qorei said he was ready to accept any decision by the Parliament, including if it meant handing in his resignation or being sacked.
“I take full responsibility for the situation and therefore on Monday the PLC will make its decision, whether (to vote) confidence or no confidence,” he told a news conference in Ramallah. He added, however, that he as premier should not be the only one held responsible, but also the president, the heads of the Palestinian security forces and the militant factions themselves. Some 16 legislators have asked for the special PLC session Monday.
His comments come less than a week before MPs are to debate and vote on a no-confidence motion blaming him and his administration for failing to adequately counter the chaos gripping parts of the Palestinian territories. “The security situation is very serious. Chaos, murders, crime and gun-carrying continue,” Qorei told reporters.
He said his government would bow to any decision taken by Parliament on Monday when MPs are scheduled to vote on the no-confidence motion filed by 16 deputies. The motion was filed after a parliamentary commission accused the government of failing to contain the situation adequately or support initiatives from Interior Minister Nasr Yussef.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians swarmed into the evacuated Jewish settlement of Sanur in the northern West Bank yesterday after Israeli troops left the tiny enclave. A joyful crowd of civilians and policemen hoisted Palestinian flags from a former mosque, once used by Sanur settlers as a Jewish seminary and synagogue, as well as a former British mandate garrison, an AFP photographer said.
