Palestinian infighting: Abbas versus Fayyad over Netanyahu meeting

           The London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper is reporting that there has been a break between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. It follows last week's refusal by Fayyad to meet with Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and deliver a letter on behalf of Abbas. Instead, top Palestinian officials including Saeb Erekat and a Palestinian intelligence chief met with Netanyahu last Tuesday at the Prime Minister's official residence in Jerusalem. The sources quoted by Al-Quds Al-Arabi say there is a "silent crisis" between the Palestinian Authority president and prime minister especially after Abbas ignored recent attempts by Fayyad to discuss a reshuffling of the cabinet, an important issue which has been floated as a possibility, and had been a matter that the two were to have discussed. According to the newspaper report, Abbas is refusing to answer Fayyad's telephone calls and other attempts to reach him to move forward with coordinating on the above cabinet issue. Reportedly, a number of others in the Fatah leadership are also inciting Abbas against Fayyad.