The Palestinian parliament has decided to hold a confidence vote on unpopular Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, officials said, taking a major step toward his possible ouster.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, left, attends the parliament session along with Ahmed Qurea, spokesman, in the West Bank city of Ramallah Thursday Sept 4 , 2003. In a speech marking his first 100 days in office Abbas told parliament Thursday it must either support him or send him home.   [AP]

Abbas has been weakened by his power struggle with veteran leader Yasser Arafat, the near-collapse of a U.S.-backed peace plan and his inability to improve the daily lives of Palestinians.

The beleaguered prime minister, on the job just a little over three months, was to meet with legislators in a closed-door session Saturday to outline his problems with Arafat.

Citing four anonymous Palestinian officials, The New York Times reported Saturday that Abbas planned to resign by midday.

Abbas has repeatedly threatened to resign, in an apparent attempt to pressure Arafat to hand over some of his powers. The threat carries considerable weight, because Arafat's international standing would slip even further were he to be seen as having engineered Abbas' removal.

Abbas and Arafat have been wrangling ever since Arafat appointed the prime minister under intense international pressure. The latest standoff is over control of the security forces. Abbas, backed by the United States, demands command over all men under arms, but Arafat refuses to relinquish control over four of the eight security branches.

The prime minister says he will not clamp down on militants, as required by the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.

However, being in control of all the security forces would give him greater authority in renewed negotiations with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and renegades from his own Fatah  movement.

Earlier this week, Abbas told parliament it must either back him or strip him of his post, saying he is not clinging to the job and would just as soon step down.

Parliament Speaker Ahmed Qureia initially opposed holding a confidence vote, saying he did not want the legislature to get dragged into the power struggle between the two leaders.

However, Qureia changed his mind on Friday and agreed to hold a vote, probably later this week. Parliament officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there is growing dissatisfaction with Abbas among legislators, and that the showdown can no longer be avoided.

Abbas' resignation or ouster would be a serious blow to the road map, and Israel and the United States would be left without a Palestinian negotiating partner, at least temporarily.

Both nations have said they will not do business with Arafat, whom they consider an obstacle to peace-making.

Israel's defense minister has threatened to expel Arafat. Israel has been held back by U.S. opposition and by warnings of its security chiefs that Arafat could do more harm abroad than isolated at his West Bank headquarters.

However, the threshold for taking action against Arafat could be lowered by Abbas' departure.

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