Arafat yields in battle over new cabinet
Conal Urquhart in Ramallah
Thursday April 24, 2003
The Guardian
The Palestinian prime minister designate declared a new era for his people yesterday after he triumphed in a power struggle with Yasser Arafat.
Mahmoud Abbas succeeded in ensuring his control over the Palestinian security apparatus by appointing Mohammed Dahlan as his security chief.
His success will be seen by the international community and Israel as a sign that the Palestinians are serious about reform and peace. It will pave the way for publication of the internationally brokered "road map" to peace - drawn up last year by the US, the EU, Russia and the United Nations - once the Palestinian cabinet is ratified by the parliament.
Abu Mazen, the name by which Mr Abbas is more popularly known, said that it was possible this was the beginning of a new era for the Palestinians and denied that there had been any rift with Mr Arafat.
"There was no crisis to start with. We will continue to work with our brother Yasser Arafat. We now hope that we will receive the confidence of the PLC [Palestinian legislative council]," he said.
For more than 10 days, Mr Arafat had insisted that Mr Dahlan would not be in charge of security, demanding the appointment of his confidant, Hani al-Hassan, the current minister of the interior.
The power struggle centred on Mr Arafat's determination to prevail over Mr Abbas, and a desire to retain control over security policy. However, the international community was adamant Mr Arafat should have as little control over security as possible and Abu Mazen should appear as independent as possible. Yesterday's resolution appeared to guarantee both things.
Mr Arafat had been under heavy international pressure to give Abu Mazen a free hand to choose his cabinet.
For much of the day, the two sides appeared intransigent as envoys, including the head of Egyptian intelligence, Omar Suleiman, and Russia's envoy Andrei Vdovin, shuttled between the offices of Mr Arafat and Abu Mazen.
At lunchtime, Abu Mazen said that he did not know whether he would be able to form a government by the end of the day, the constitutional time limit for him to do so.
In a statement from his office he blamed the delay on "a lack of confidence and problems over the powers of the prime minister".
However, a few hours later, at the Muqata, Mr Arafat's compound, the Palestinian president and Abu Mazen emerged, tightly holding hands to say goodbye to Mr Suleiman along with Mr Dahlan. The four men embraced, giving one another three kisses in a public demonstration of unity.
Na'abil Shaath, the proposed minister for foreign affairs in the new cabinet, said: "President Arafat has confirmed the composition of the cabinet headed by Mahmoud Abbas. The decision has been sent to the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, which will arrange for them to meet and confirm the cabinet, probably on Sunday or Monday.
"This will signify the beginning of activity of the new government. We assume the road map will now be published, and we expect the Israelis to lift their siege and begin their withdrawal. We hope this will be the start of the process towards a Palestinian state".
Mr Shaath paid tribute to the intervention of Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt, for sending Mr Suleiman to arbitrate.
However, he denied that there had been a rift between the two founders of Fatah.
"There was not a question of anyone compromising. Everybody worked around the clock in the best interests of the Palestinian people," he said.
Tony Blair had joined a host of foreign leaders to telephone Mr Arafat to tell him not to interfere in the formation of Abu Mazen's cabinet.
If Abu Mazen's government is ratified by the PLC on Sunday or Monday, he will then have to embark on his most difficult task, stopping all Palestinian attacks on the Israelis. He will attempt to persuade Hamas and Islamic Jihad to declare a truce, by means of persuasion and force.
Mr Vdovin said yesterday: "It is too early to talk about a historic step but this is absolutely positive. This proves the Palestinians are serious about reforms and this seriousness will have a very important effect on the whole process.
"These steps need to be reciprocated by the Israelis, and hopefully this will be the start of a dynamic process."
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