2 Palestinian Officials Announce Resignations

The justice minister announced his resignation to protest Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat’s refusal to share power, adding to growing turmoil in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The minister, Nahed Arreyes, said he had been stripped of much of his authority over the legal system. Last year, Arafat created a rival agency to the Justice Ministry and he continues to control the judiciary.

Planning Minister Nabil Qassis also resigned, but apparently not as an act of protest. Qassis said he was leaving the Cabinet to serve as president of Birzeit University in the West Bank.