The chief Palestinian peace negotiator submitted his resignation Friday, signaling deep divisions within the Palestinian camp as leaders prepare for a major summit with the Israeli prime minister. Saeb Erekat, who serves as Cabinet minister in charge of negotiations with Israel, sent a letter of resignation late Thursday, a Palestinian official said on condition of anonymity. The new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, asked Erekat to allow him one week to respond to the resignation letter, the official said. Erekat has been a leading Palestinian negotiator with Israel since Madrid peace talks in 1992. The official did not provide a reason for Erekat's resignation, but the Palestinian leadership has been rocked for weeks by a power struggle between Abbas and longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Israel and the United States have refused to negotiate with Arafat and have pressed the Palestinians to give Abbas more power. Erekat is not part of the Palestinian delegation that is to attend a summit meeting Saturday evening between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. At the summit, the Palestinians will ask Israel to accept the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, which aims to stop the fighting and set up a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "We will ask for a clear and frank answer regarding the road map," said Palestinian Parliament Speaker Ahmed Qureia. Qureia said he was not optimistic, noting that Israel has been sending tough signals, including the seizure of a Palestinian town in Gaza earlier this week. Five Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy and two teens, were killed in Thursday's raid. "We should not expect something from a person who commits such attacks against the people," Qureia said. "There can be no talk about the road map or peace process while this aggression and ugly attacks against the Palestinian people continue." Israeli troops continued Friday to patrol the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun in an effort to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets across the fence with Israel. Despite the military push, a rocket fired from Gaza landed in an open area of Israel's Negev Desert overnight, causing no damage or injuries. In other Israeli violence, a Palestinian was killed in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. An army spokesman said soldiers shot the man as he ran toward an army post in an off-limits area. Meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli police were patrolling Jerusalem's Old City to keep order during Friday's Muslim prayers at a hilltop site holy to Muslims. Israel barred Palestinian men under the age of 40 from reaching the walled Al Aqsa Mosque compound, fearing crowds of young men would gather there to protest this week's arrest of the leader of Israel's Islamic Movement and 14 of the group's members. Israel's police minister, Tzahi Hanegbi, also angered Muslims this week by saying he believed Jews would soon be able to visit Al Aqsa. Non-Muslims have been barred from the compound since a Sept. 28, 2000 visit by Sharon, then Israel's opposition leader. That visit, meant to demonstrate Israeli control, triggered widespread protests by Palestinians and quickly escalated into the current conflict. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Palestinian Negotiation Affairs Minister Saeb Erekat has resigned from the cabinet, a Palestinian official said on May 16, 2003. January 25, 2001 file photo. REUTERS/Natalie Behring/files