Mahmud Abbas Offered to resign
Mahmud Abbas submitted his resignation earlier in a letter to President Yasser Arafat.
In a separate letter to the central committee, the prime minister challenged the organisation to outline a different policy toward the Israeli government and said he was ready to step down if his own line was at fault.
The resignation offer followed a stormy meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank town of Ramallah late yesterday at which Mr Abbas came under fire over his contacts with Israel, especially on the issue of prisoner releases.
As a result, the Prime Minister postponed a scheduled meeting tomorrow with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Palestinian ministers were angered by an Israeli government decision to pave the way for the release of just 350 Palestinian prisoners, representing little more than 5% of those currently in detention.
Earlier, a local wing of Islamic Jihad said it carried out the suicide bombing in Israel last night but said it remained committed to a 10-day-old ceasefire.
Last night's attack killed an Israeli woman in her home. A statement by the group demanded the release of all Palestinian prisoners or attacks such as this would resume.
Islamic Jihad's command in the Gaza Strip said it knew nothing about the Jenin wing's claim.
