Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Ahmed Qureia accepted the post of prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, replacing Mahmoud Abbas, who quit Saturday as the main go-between with the U.S. and Israel during peace negotiations, Agence France-Presse reported.

An unidentified official told AFP that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat announced Qureia's decision to the Legislative Council. Qureia was offered the job by Arafat last night.

Earlier, Qureia, the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, said he would only accept an offer to become prime minister if Israel agreed to ease its clampdown on Palestinian-ruled areas and the U.S. and European Union backed him on the conditions.

Abbas quit after he lost a power struggle with Arafat over control of the Palestinian security forces. The U.S. and Israel negotiated only with Abbas, saying Arafat has links to terrorists.

(AFP 9-8)

For the Agence France-Presse Web site, see {WAFP <GO>}

Last Updated: September 8, 2003 13:08 EDT