Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declared the roadmap for peace plan dead. "The roadmap is dead, but only because of Israeli military aggression in recent weeks," Arafat told CNN in his Ramallah headquarters where he has been confined by Israeli forces for the last 20 months. However, a senior advisor to Arafat later insisted that the Palestinians remained committed to the project and urged its co-sponsors to work harder towards its implementation. "The Palestinians continue to respect the roadmap, and it still exists," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP on Wednesday, refusing to comment directly on Arafat's comments to CNN. "We appeal to the quartet to work towards its application and appeal to the world to support the Palestinian people in the face of Israel which is trying hard to destroy the roadmap," he added. Progress has stalled completely since Israel froze all contacts with the Palestinians in the aftermath of a bus bomb in Jerusalem on August 19. Israel has since declared all-out war on Palestinian Islamic groups, killing a number of Hamas activists in a series of air strikes in Gaza. ** Abbas Demands Parliamentary Backing*** Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas is set to issue a blunt ultimatum to parliament on Thursday - back me or I quit. Speaking to journalists, the embattled leader would only confirm his intention to address MPs, giving them an account of his first 100 days in office. But officials say that he is ready to resign unless his moderate policies are given solid support. A collapse of Abbas's reformist drive would almost certainly put the final nail in the coffin of the US-brokered "road map" peace plan, which is already endangered by an upsurge in violence. Officials say Arafat and Abbas, close comrades for decades in the Palestinian push for independence, now cannot stand the sight of each other. Arafat refuses to give up control of security forces to Abbas, a move seen as indispensable in efforts to rein in Palestinian armed groups. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Israeli soldiers guard an arrested Palestinian at the Howara checkpoint in the West Bank city of Nablus, September 3, 2003. (REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini)