RAMALLAH, West Bank ? Yasser Arafat tapped the Palestinian parliament speaker, an architect of peace with Israel, to take over as prime minister Sunday after a day of intense backroom politicking that followed the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas.

Meanwhile, Israeli helicopters launched a missile attack at the home of Hamas militant Abdel Salam Abu Musa in the Gaza Strip, wounding at least 11 people. The army said the target was a Hamas weapons warehouse inside the building, in the Khan Younis refugee camp.

Sunday’s attack came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said all Hamas militants were “marked for death.”

Several leaders of Arafat’s ruling Fatah party confirmed the nomination by consensus of parliament speaker Ahmed Qureia, though it remained unclear would he would accept. Qureia attended the meeting Sunday night but did not comment, Fatah officials said. The parliament speaker “is our only nominee,” said Abbas Zaki, a member of the Fatah central committee.

Palestinian officials agreed on Arafat’s suggestion of Qureia and asked him to form a new government within 48 hours, said Hanna Amireh, a member of PLO executive committee.

The developments came during a day of heated negotiations set off by Abbas’ resignation Saturday. Arafat had refused to grant him more power over the Palestinian security services, capping four months of wrangling between the two since Abbas took office.

Qureia, a moderate who helped cobble together the 1993 Oslo accord between Israel and the PLO, was considered a top candidate to replace Abbas because he has led past negotiations with Israel. Israeli officials didn’t immediately respond to the development.

The 65-year-old politician would be one of the few Palestinians who have credibility with Israel but could also count — at least for the moment — on the important support of Arafat. Although Qureia — like Abbas — has little independent support on the Palestinian street, he is a more savvy political operator who enjoys considerable clout after seven years as parliament speaker.

Authority needed

In a hospital emergency room, man carries a wounded man in an Israeli targeted helicopter strike against a Hamas militant, in Khan Younis. At least 11 were wounded in Sunday's strike.

Abbas’ resignation dealt a serious blow to the U.S.-backed “road map” plan for establishing a Palestinian state by 2005; Israel and the United States have refused to deal with Arafat, whom they accuse of fomenting terrorism, and made Abbas, a critic of terror attacks against Israelis, their partner in peace efforts.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said any Palestinian prime minister must have clear control over security forces and use them to crack down on militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad. “That person has to have political authority and the determination to go after terrorism,” Powell said on ABC’s “This Week.”

The “road map” plan requires the Palestinians to dismantle militant groups. Abbas, despite his strong support for the road map in principle, has refused to do this forcefully, appealing in vain to the militants to disarm.

Attacks on Hamas

The Palestinians’ leadership crisis came as Israel edged toward all-out war with the militant group Hamas.

One day after a botched strike Saturday against the group’s top leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that all of the Islamic militant group’s members are now “marked for death.”

Sunday’s missile strike against Musa appeared to confirm the Israelis’ determination to step up the campaign against Hamas. The group has promised to exact revenge for the strikes.

It was the eighth such Israeli missile strike since a Hamas suicide bomber killed 22 people on a Jerusalem bus on Aug. 19. Those attacks have killed 12 militants, including a senior political leader, and five bystanders.

Nine people were hospitalized, including three children with moderate injuries due to shrapnel, said Dr. Haider al-Qedra, director of Nasser Hospital. Two others were treated for minor injuries at the site of the attack, he said. Witnesses said Musa escaped.

Israel said it only fired one missile, while Palestinian security official Maj. Gen. Omar Ashour said two were fired.

Another Israeli bombing a day earlier lightly injured Hamas’ revered founder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, was lightly injured in an Israeli bombing on Saturday. The group has promised to exact revenge for the strikes.