Arafat to appoint PM today

Yasser Arafat is to appoint his long-time deputy Mahmoud Abbas as prime minister today, a senior official said, marking the first time the Palestinian leader has been forced to share power.

Mr Arafat agreed to appoint a premier under intense international pressure, but tried until the last minute to limit the powers of the new position.

Yesterday, Palestinian MPs rebuffed his efforts to insert a clause that would have appeared to give him the final say over Cabinet appointments.

After his appointment is made official, Mr Abbas will have three weeks to name his Cabinet and win approval of parliament.

According to the legislation creating his post – passed almost unanimously in votes a week apart – Mr Abbas has the authority to appoint the Cabinet and call it into session, and he is responsible for overseeing its functions.

“It’s the beginning of a transition – it is certainly a turning point and a qualitative shift in the political culture,” said legislator Hanan Ashrawi. “Now we have power-sharing that is clearly spelled out.”

Mr Arafat remains the overall commander of Palestinian security forces, and the broader “Palestinian leadership”, a body that includes the Cabinet, PLO leaders and security commanders and is under Mr Arafat’s control, retains the final say in peace talks with Israel.

The US and Israel demanded that Mr Arafat be sidelined or neutralised, charging that he has not done enough to stop Palestinian attacks against Israelis during nearly 30 months of violence.

The rebellious stance of the Palestinian parliament – which started the reform wave by forcing Mr Arafat’s Cabinet to resign last June – might help calm Israeli and US concerns that after all is said and done, the Palestinian leader still retains most of the power.

Palestinians reject demands to replace Mr Arafat and blame Israel’s military operations for the continuing violence.

In a series of incursions, Israel has retaken most of the Palestinian areas in the West Bank.

In Gaza, Israeli troops invade Palestinian towns and refugee camps almost nightly, destroying houses, arresting suspected militants and clashing with gunmen.