Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat last night rejected a reformist cabinet proposed by Prime Minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), with sources attending the Fatah Central Committee meeting where Abu Mazen presented his government saying Arafat called it "a direct provocation."
According to the sources, Arafat was primarily opposed to the plan to make former Preventive Security chief in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, a minister of state for internal affairs, in charge of the Preventive Security forces, and Abu Mazen's plan to demote Arafat associate Interior Minister Hanni el Hassan.
Abu Mazen has been threatening that if the government he presents is not approved, he will refuse to accept the position of prime minster.
Arafat's opposition to the ministerial list will disappoint Washington, which has said the release of a long-awaited peace "road map" leading to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005 must await the installation of an Abbas-led cabinet.
To sidestep Arafat's opposition to Dahlan as interior minister, with authority over all the security forces, Abu Mazen decided to name himself interior minister, with Dahlan in a subordinate role.
But apparently that did not satisfy Arafat.
Eveb before Abu Mazen presented the list, sources inside the Fatah Central Committee were predicting that "Arafat will not allow this to pass."
There was no immediate comment from Abu Mazen, who has largely refrained from speaking to the media since being tapped last month to become prime minister at the urging of international peace brokers who have soured on Arafat.
In a sign that discussions on the composition of the cabinet would continue, Arafat convened top aides late last night after the Fatah Central Committee meeting. A Reuters correspondent was told by a Fatah sources, "The general feeling is that Abu Mazen did not consult them enough about the cabinet's formation."
The cabinet presented by Abu Mazen included several legislators, such as Ziyad Abu Amr and Nabil Amr, who have been demanding reforms to root out corruption in Palestinian Authority institutions since 1997. Several current ministers suspected of corruption were left off the roster.
Reformist Finance Minister Salam Fayyad would retain the high-profile post to continue working on making Palestinian Authority finances more transparent. Major-General Nasser Yousef, head of the Palestinian national security forces, was designated vice prime minister. He established close contacts with Israel's peace camp before the intifada began in September 2000.
U.S. President George W. Bush has conditioned the publication of the road map, an international plan for resuming final status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, on the presentation of a reformist government by Abu Mazen.
The Safed-born Abu Mazen has worked alongside Arafat since the Fatah was established, and has long been the Number 2 man in the PLO after Arafat. They have often wrangled in the past
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