Post by Salem6 on Oct 12, 2003 9:22:04 GMT
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei have failed to resolve a dispute blocking the parliamentary ratification of a new cabinet.
Qurei (right) had been regarded as an Arafat loyalist
The two men met representatives of Mr Arafat's mainstream Fatah faction on Saturday in the West Bank town of Ramallah, after a vote of confidence in the new government was postponed two days earlier.
At present Mr Qurei's cabinet has a one-month mandate, under a decree issued by Mr Arafat on 5 October.
At the heart of the dispute is the appointment of an interior minister, with Mr Arafat and Mr Qurei at loggerheads over whether the original nominee should be rejected.
"We have a crisis, but we are still trying to work it out," said cabinet member Saeb Erekat.
Mr Qurei's predecessor, Mahmoud Abbas, quit in September as the first Palestinian prime minister only five months into the job after a power struggle with Mr Arafat.
NOMINATED CABINET
Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei
Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath
Finance Minister Salam Fayad
Interior Minister Nasser Yousef
Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat
Education Minister Nabil Abul Hummus
Local Affairs Minister Jamal Shobaki
Jawad Tibi and Abdel Rahman Hamad (positions not given)
Nasser Yousef was appointed interior minister earlier in the week, a role which would place him at the head of Palestinian security forces.
However, he refused to be sworn in on Tuesday, because he believed the cabinet should obtain the full backing of the Palestinian parliament in a vote, sources said.
Mr Arafat was apparently angered by Mr Yousef's position, and a parliamentary vote scheduled for Thursday was called off.
Sources close to Mr Qurei said on Thursday he was indignant at Mr Arafat's attempts to "interfere" over security issues.
US officials, who are trying to revive the stymied road map for Middle East peace, hope the new cabinet will crack down on militant Palestinian groups.
However, Mr Qurei has said he will not use force to do this.
Fatah sources, quoted by the Associated Press, said that Mr Arafat has now proposed replacing Mr Yousef with Hakam Balawi, a senior Fatah official.
However, Mr Qurei argued that to reject Mr Youssef only a week after he was appointed would disgrace the government.
The new cabinet's formation was announced a week ago, as the Palestinian leadership declared a state of emergency in the wake of a suicide bombing in northern Israel.
But Legislative Council members were angry that the Palestinian leader had tried to bypass them by using an emergency decree and warned they would not support Mr Qurei's cabinet of eight in any vote of confidence presented by the Palestinian Authority.
Qurei (right) had been regarded as an Arafat loyalist
The two men met representatives of Mr Arafat's mainstream Fatah faction on Saturday in the West Bank town of Ramallah, after a vote of confidence in the new government was postponed two days earlier.
At present Mr Qurei's cabinet has a one-month mandate, under a decree issued by Mr Arafat on 5 October.
At the heart of the dispute is the appointment of an interior minister, with Mr Arafat and Mr Qurei at loggerheads over whether the original nominee should be rejected.
"We have a crisis, but we are still trying to work it out," said cabinet member Saeb Erekat.
Mr Qurei's predecessor, Mahmoud Abbas, quit in September as the first Palestinian prime minister only five months into the job after a power struggle with Mr Arafat.
NOMINATED CABINET
Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei
Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath
Finance Minister Salam Fayad
Interior Minister Nasser Yousef
Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat
Education Minister Nabil Abul Hummus
Local Affairs Minister Jamal Shobaki
Jawad Tibi and Abdel Rahman Hamad (positions not given)
Nasser Yousef was appointed interior minister earlier in the week, a role which would place him at the head of Palestinian security forces.
However, he refused to be sworn in on Tuesday, because he believed the cabinet should obtain the full backing of the Palestinian parliament in a vote, sources said.
Mr Arafat was apparently angered by Mr Yousef's position, and a parliamentary vote scheduled for Thursday was called off.
Sources close to Mr Qurei said on Thursday he was indignant at Mr Arafat's attempts to "interfere" over security issues.
US officials, who are trying to revive the stymied road map for Middle East peace, hope the new cabinet will crack down on militant Palestinian groups.
However, Mr Qurei has said he will not use force to do this.
Fatah sources, quoted by the Associated Press, said that Mr Arafat has now proposed replacing Mr Yousef with Hakam Balawi, a senior Fatah official.
However, Mr Qurei argued that to reject Mr Youssef only a week after he was appointed would disgrace the government.
The new cabinet's formation was announced a week ago, as the Palestinian leadership declared a state of emergency in the wake of a suicide bombing in northern Israel.
But Legislative Council members were angry that the Palestinian leader had tried to bypass them by using an emergency decree and warned they would not support Mr Qurei's cabinet of eight in any vote of confidence presented by the Palestinian Authority.