Mahmoud Abbas stepped down from his role as Palestinian Prime Minister over the weekend, jolting the already tenuous Middle East peace process. In his resignation, Abbas, commonly known as Abu Mazen, criticized players on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Abbas' resignation comes as a blow to the U.S.-backed "Road Map" and leaves Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to choose a successor. Abbas played a crucial role in negotiating the short-lived cease-fire agreement between Israel and terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, he stated his government did not receive enough cooperation from Israel. In a statement released on Saturday, Abbas faulted Israel for "unwillingness to implement its commitments in the road map." He also criticized Arafat for a lack of support and "harsh and dangerous incitement against his government."

Both Israel and the United States have made it a point not to deal with Arafat since the first implementations of the "road map." Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government said over the weekend that "Israel will not accept a situation where the control of the Palestinian Authority will revert back to Arafat or anyone acting on his behalf." On Monday, Arafat nominated Ahmed Qurei, the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, to succeed Abbas.

- By Compiled Benjamin Freed