Arafat swears in new president

YASSER ARAFAT swore in new Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and a skeleton emergency cabinet yesterday in a move likely to make it more difficult for Israel to carry out its threat to “remove” the Palestinian leader.

But not sworn in was the man tipped to take some control over all the Palestinian security forces, Nasser Yousef.

Israel and the US have demanded centralisation of the eight Palestinian security branches under the interior minister the post responsible for law and order so they can crack down on militant groups. Arafat has traditionally maintained tight control over many of those forces.

Yousef, a veteran Palestinian military official named to become interior minister, was in Arafat's compound during yesterday's ceremony but was not sworn in. Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath and other Palestinian officials said Yousef would join the cabinet in the next few days.

Arafat declared a state of emergency in the Palestinian areas and named the eight-member cabinet a day after a suicide bombing in the Israeli city of Haifa killed 19 people. The bombing led to demands for Israel to carry out its threat to "remove" Arafat.

The emergency government will serve for a month, with a possible one-month extension if two-thirds of Palestinian legislators back the idea. Qureia could also present a full-sized cabinet to parliament within a month.

In installing an emergency cabinet, Arafat made it more difficult for Israel to move against him. The US appears willing to give Qureia a chance, and any Israeli action against Arafat could force Qureia's immediate resignation and cause chaos in Palestinian areas.

Meanwhile, Israel warned its neighbours yesterday it would not hesitate to strike its enemies, wherever they are. It was Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's first public comment since Israeli planes bombed a suspected terrorist training base deep inside Syria.

His threat, implying Israel would continue to attack targets abroad in retaliation for Palestinian suicide bombings, fed concerns that the three-year conflict with the Palestinians could engulf other countries in the region.

Sharon ordered the Syrian airstrike in reprisal for Saturday's suicide bombing of a Haifa restaurant that killed 19 people, including children.

"Israel will not be deterred from protecting its citizens and will strike its enemies in every place and in every way," Sharon said at a memorial service for soldiers killed during the 1973 Mideast war.

Syrian President Bashar Assad said the air-raid was an Israeli attempt to provoke war. "There is no doubt the role Syria plays in the various issues in our region is painful to this Israeli government. What happened was a failed Israeli attempt to undercut this role," Assad said.

Meanwhile, Israeli operations continued throughout the West Bank and Gaza. Overnight, the Israeli army arrested 15 militants from the Islamic Jihad group in the town of Jenin and the nearby refugee camp, according to Palestinian officials.