Palestinian MPs call for new govt

Marwan Kanafani, head of the Palestinian Legilative Council's political committee, began reading the report, compiled by several MPs, that called for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat "to accept the resignation of the current government and the formation of a new government."

Parliamentary sources said that the government of prime minister Ahmed Qorei, who has submitted his resignation to Arafat in a power struggle over control of the security services, could face a formal no confidence motion.

The report said that the current government had completely failed to tackle the lawlessness in the territories, the sources added.

The state of chaos was rammed home late Tuesday when one of the report's authors, former information minister Nabil Amr, was attacked by gunmen in Ramallah.