We need to bring about a system of accountability and transparency to which each one of us will be subject, including President Arafat

Saeb Erekat Palestinian minister

But Mr Arafat has said Israel must pull its troops out of the Palestinian territories before any reform can proceed.

The meeting's agenda also took in technical aspects of organising elections and who would be eligible to participate, the committee's head, Mohammed Shtayyeh, told the BBC.

Mr Shtayyeh made it clear that no election would be possible without co-operation from Israel, whose forces are restricting Palestinians' movement in the West Bank and between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem would also have to be included in any poll, he said.

Sunday also saw the arrival in Ramallah of the Jordanian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister for talks with Mr Arafat to try to establish a concrete timetable for a final peace settlement.

And in another development, Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has put forward a peace proposal which calls for the swift establishment of a Palestinian state.

Support battered

Ahead of the meeting, Local Government Minister Saeb Erekat told Israeli Army radio it was vital to create a democratic separation of powers in the Palestinian Authority.

"We need to bring about a system of accountability and transparency to which each one of us will be subject, including President Arafat," he said.

Arafat's solution to the Bethlehem siege angered some

Some Palestinians are complaining that Mr Arafat has sold out to Israel and sacrificed important principles by allowing 13 of the militants besieged in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity to be sent into exile.

Such accusations - like the complaints about corruption and cronyism of his administration - are not new.

But analysts say they have added weight at a time when his leadership is under such threat from Israel.

No date

In a speech to the Palestinian legislature last week, Mr Arafat called for the "speedy preparation of elections" - without specifying a date.

Mr Arafat's authority has sagged since the Israeli incursions

There have been suggestions municipal elections could be held later this year with legislative elections taking place in early 2003.

But his demand for an Israeli withdrawal to the positions held before the latest uprising, or intifada, began in September 2000 could put a freeze on any progress.

Israel has indicated that it plans to continue what it calls "pinpoint operations" on suspected militant targets in the Palestinian territories.

So far, Mr Arafat's only declared challenger is Abdel Sattar Qassem, a Palestinian political scientist who says he will run on an anti-corruption platform but who has no local support base.

"I am running for the presidency because I think we need to make some drastic necessary reforms our social, political, economic structures," Mr Qassem told the BBC.

"The Palestinians are actually suffering in two aspects - one aspect from the Israelis and then the other from the Palestinian Authority."