Report: Qureia to replace Arafat associates in new cabinet

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia is planning to replace six cabinet ministers who were considered close confidants of the late Yasser Arafat, the Arabic-language daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported Wednesday.

According to the report in the London-based newspaper, Qureia will seek to replace the foreign minister and the interior minister, as well as those holding the finance, civil affairs, communications and social affairs portfolios.

The current foreign minister, Nabil Sha'ath, will be replaced by the present Palestine Liberation Organization envoy to the United Nations and Arafat's nephew, Nasser al-Kidwa, the paper said.

The report also names the secretary-general of the Fatah Central Committee, Tayeb Abdel Rahim, as a possible deputy to Qureia and former security chief Mohammed Dahlan as national security adviser.

General Nasser Yusuf is a leading candidate to head the Interior Ministry and former information minister Nabil Amr, who lost a leg in a recent shooting attack on his home, will also head an important ministry.

The PA is to hold elections for a new chairman to replace Arafat on January 9. The leading candidate, PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas, was Qureia's predecessor as prime minister, but resigned following disputes with Arafat over control of the PA security forces.