Arafat names cabinet committed to reform

YASSER ARAFAT presented a new cabinet on Tuesday and said he remains committed to internal reform, but he accused Israel of demanding change in his government as a pretext for destroying the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Parliament was expected to approve the 19-member cabinet, even though it closely resembles the cabinet legislators forced to resign earlier this month.

"We need Palestinian reform that helps Palestinian objectives," Arafat told legislators. "The Israeli government is using the reform issue as a way of destroying the Palestinian Authority."