Palestinian leaders for restoring law & order

It was the first major decision announced by the Palestinian leadership since Arafat was flown to hospital in Paris on Oct 29.

Palestinians were planning yesterday for a smooth transfer of power in the event of Yasser Arafat's death at a series of high-level political and security meetings while the veteran leader battled for life in a French hospital.

Health bulletins from France, where Arafat has been treated for the last nine days, said the 75-year-old remained in a coma although his position was stable.

While Arafat lies in intensive care in the Percy military hospital on the southwestern outskirts of Paris, his former prime minister Mahmud Abbas and current premier Ahmed Qorei have assumed control of the major Palestinian institutions.

Qorei, who is at the helm of the Palestinian Authority in Arafat's absence, was to chair a meeting of the national security council before a meeting of the dominant Fatah faction, presided over by Abbas, officials said.

The two men were then expected to join a meeting with leaders of other factions such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) in the evening.

The militant Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad will not attend the evening meeting but Qorei held talks with representatives of both factions in the Gaza Strip on Saturday where all parties agreed on the need for a united front if Arafat fails to recover.

"Taking up arms is not a solution," Qorei told a press conference after Saturday's meeting. "Any domestic problem must be solved by national dialogue. This is the only way."

Hamas, which has so far resisted pressure from Qorei to halt their campaign of anti-Israeli attacks, said there was a consensus on the need to maintain a united front.

"We told the prime minister that we want to preserve Palestinian unity and that we will hold dialogue to resolve all conflict," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told reporters. "No-one wants to take up arms."

Abbas is emerging as the chief player in the Palestinian fold while Arafat hovers between life and death.

If Abbas can cement his control, it could galvanise the moribund Middle East peace process. While Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and US President George W. Bush have snubbed Arafat, Abbas was a guest of both men during his brief tenure as prime minister last year.

Abbas on Saturday chaired a meeting of the PLO's executive committee, whose members sent congratulations to Bush for his re-election and expressed their desire to work with him towards the implementation of the roadmap peace plan, which targets the creation of an independent Palestinian state next year.