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Politics : The Palestinian Hoax -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (3396)	3/21/2003 10:20:25 AM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3467

Good post GZ.

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (3396)	4/15/2003 2:06:44 PM
From: lorne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3467

Arafat rejects Cabinet that excludes his allies From Robert Tait In Jerusalem April 15, 2003 YASSIR ARAFAT, the Palestinian Authority leader, has rejected the proposed Cabinet drawn up by the man he chose as Prime Minister. Palestinian sources say that Mr Arafat is furious at the choices of Mahmoud Abbas, the Prime Minister-designate, because they exclude many of his own supporters. He is understood to be particularly angry at moves to give responsibility for security to Muhammad Dahlan, who is respected by America and Israel. Mr Arafat’s opposition could delay or even block approval of the proposed new Cabinet by Palestinian deputies. President Bush has made publication of an international peace “road map”, which plans for an independent Palestinian State by 2005, conditional on the swearing-in of Mr Abbas’s new government. Mr Arafat created the post of Prime Minister under pressure from the United States and Israel, who refused to deal with him and demanded a new Palestinian leadership. Mr Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen, presented his proposed 22-member Cabinet, made up of many reform-minded technocrats in line with international demands, to Mr Arafat on Sunday. According to local reports, Mr Arafat threw the list on the floor in disgust. Some sources also suggest that American officials were told of the list’s contents before Mr Arafat. Because of Mr Arafat’s objections, a planned meeting of the central committee of his Fatah organisation to approve the new Cabinet was postponed. The dispute comes after weeks of tension between Mr Abbas and Mr Arafat over the Prime Minister’s powers and his chosen Cabinet. Mr Abbas was given a two-week extension to form a government after reports that he had threatened to resign because of frustration over Mr Arafat’s alleged interference. At the heart of the disagreement is the status of Mr Dahlan. Mr Abbas planned to make him the Interior Minister, with powers over security issues. Such a move would please Israel because controlling the security forces is seen as crucial to cracking down on violent militant groups. Mr Dahlan and Mr Abbas have both criticised militant attacks on Israeli targets. When Mr Arafat objected, pressing the case for his ally, Hani al-Hassan, to stay in the post, Mr Abbas tried to resolve the dispute by appointing himself Interior Minister, giving Mr Dahlan a lesser role with special security responsibilities. Still Mr Arafat was not satisfied. Other prominent figures in Mr Arafat’s administration faced demotion to secondary roles as ministers without portfolio, including the most visible officials: Saeb Erekat, the Local Government Minister, Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Information Minister — both of whom frequently act as spokesmen for Mr Arafat — and Maher al-Masri, the Trade Minister. The three have told Mr Abbas that they would not join the Cabinet, officials said. Mr Abbas was hoping to present his Cabinet this week, but the last-minute manoeuvring threatened another delay. Mr Bush has expressed impatience over the drawn-out negotiations. The “road map” calls for an end to 30 months of violence and the pullback of Israeli forces from forward positions in the West Bank, followed by provisional Palestinian statehood and negotiations over final status issues such as borders, Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees and Jewish settlements. Israel has presented 15 requests for changes in the plan, insisting on ironclad procedures guaranteeing an end to Palestinian attacks before Israel makes any moves. The Palestinians say that Israel is trying to sabotage the plan. However, in a newspaper interview on Sunday, Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, indicated that he would be willing to uproot Jewish settlements in exchange for true peace with the Palestinians. Although many locations in the West Bank are historically tied to Israel, Mr Sharon told the Haaretz daily: “I know that we will have to part with some of these places.” He also said that a Palestinian state was inevitable. His own Likud party rejects the creation of a Palestinian state. timesonline.co.uk