Yasser Arafat has accepted the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, a Palestinian official said Saturday. Arafat accepted the resignation shortly after Abbas submitted a letter of resignation, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Abbas sent his resignation to Arafat in a letter delivered by senior Palestinian officials, according to chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. Abbas and Arafat have been wrangling ever since Arafat appointed the prime minister under intense international pressure in April. The latest standoff is over control of the security forces. Abbas, backed by the United States, demands command over all men under arms, but Arafat refuses to relinquish control over four of the eight security branches. Earlier this week, Abbas told parliament it must either back him or strip him of his post, saying he is not clinging to the job and would just as soon step down. Abbas' resignation or ouster would be a serious blow to the road map, and Israel and the United States would be left without a Palestinian negotiating partner, at least temporarily. Both nations have said they will not do business with Arafat, whom they accuse of fomenting terrorism and consider an obstacle to peacemaking. Israel's defense minister has threatened to expel Arafat. Israel's government has considered this idea in the past, but has been held back by U.S. opposition and by warnings of its security chiefs that Arafat could do more harm abroad than isolated at his West Bank headquarters. At a demonstration in a northern Gaza Strip refugee camp, Hamas activists have sworn vengeance, after the killing of the movement's armed wing in the West Bank city of Nablus. He was killed along with an Israeli soldier during his arrest. The Israeli army later destroyed his home. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas smokes at the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah, September 4, 2003. (Photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters)