Qureia selects Palestinian Cabinet

PALESTINIAN Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said yesterday that he has formed a cabinet and will present it to parliament for approval later this week, which could clear the way for the resumption of high-level talks with Israel.

Mr Qureia’s announcement caps weeks of political wrangling, including a stand-off with veteran Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat over control of security forces. Mr Qureia gave in on most points in order to be able to go ahead with forming the government, frustrating American efforts to sideline Mr Arafat.

Mr Qureia and Mr Arafat have held a series of meetings in recent days, including one yesterday. Emerging from Mr Arafat’s compound, Mr Qureia said: “We have finished the composition of the cabinet, and we are going to present it to the Palestinian legislature on Wednesday for a vote of confidence.”

Mr Arafat came out the clear winner, maintaining his ultimate hold on security forces by placing them under the command of a 12-member national security council that he chairs. Mr Qureia had demanded that those forces be put under the control of an interior minister of his choosing.

Mr Arafat, too, rejected the prime minister's pick for interior minister and placed his own longtime confidant, Hakam Bilawi, in that position.

In a move that would further tighten his ultimate hold over security, Mr Arafat wanted Mr Bilawi’s responsibilities to include overseeing public order, meaning he would direct security forces in carrying out the orders of the national security council.

Mr Qureia was seeking to limit Mr Bilawi’s authority. Pushing Mr Qureia hard in the deal, Mr Arafat appeared set even to reject a last face-saving consolation for his prime minister, who sought to have his rejected pick for the interior minister, Gen. Nasser Yousef, stay in the government as a deputy prime minister.

Mr Arafat was resisting.

The compromise is sure to upset US officials, who, along with Israel, have sought to isolate Mr Arafat and whittle away at his authority. The previous prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, walked off the job after just four months, also after failing to wrest security forces from Mr Arafat’s control.

Israel and the United States believe Mr Arafat has links to terror attacks and is a hindrance to progress toward peace. US officials had hoped a prime minister in control of security personnel might use them to crack down on Islamic and other militant groups.

Palestinian leaders prefer a negotiated end to violence, not a crackdown on militants, which they warn could widen into a civil war.