Following the Resignation of All Members of the Palestinian Authority Cabinet - 2002-09-12

All 21 members of the Palestinian cabinet resigned to avoid a vote of no confidence from the Palestinian parliament. Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestinians, set January 20 as the date for presidential and parliamentary elections before accepting the cabinet's resignation. Arafat has two weeks to appoint members of a temporary cabinet. Meanwhile, Israeli forces entered the outskirts of Gaza City early today and besieged the home of a suspected Hamas militant. Israeli military officials confirmed that a military operation is underway in Gaza but refrained from providing details. Palestinian and Israeli officials welcomed the resignation of the Palestinian cabinet members on Wednesday, stating that the resignation of these 21 individuals paves the way for a new political era. According to Palestinian officials, this resignation serves as a strong warning to Yasser Arafat instead of a vote of no confidence against them. Before the cabinet's resignation, some Palestinian parliament representatives had indicated they would vote no confidence in the ministers because Arafat had not effectively removed corrupt and incompetent ministers in the recent cabinet reshuffle. General Aharon Zeevi, head of the Israeli army's intelligence, described the collective resignation of the Palestinian cabinet as a political earthquake.