GAZA, Sept. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Saturday afternoon officially accepted a resignation request presented by Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian official sources said.

　　Arafat informed members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in a meeting held at his headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah that he had accepted Abbas' resignation.

　　Abbas tendered his resignation around midday Saturday, ahead of a close-door session of the PLC.

　　Abbas and Arafat have been embroiled in an increasingly bitter power struggle, especially on who would control the Palestinian security apparatus, and the dramatic development is widely viewed as a heavy blow to the US-sponsored roadmap plan for Middle East peace. Enditem