Arafat, Qorei, resolve dispute

2003-10-11 20:34

Gaza City - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his newly-appointed prime minister Ahmed Qorei have resolved their disagreement and agreed to appoint Nasser Yussef as interior minister, a top Arafat aide said on Saturday.

"The prime minister and his cabinet who were sworn in by Arafat, will continue their mission until the end of the month according to Palestinian law, following agreement between Arafat and Abu Ala," Nabil Abu Rudeina said, using Qorei's nickname.

"Nasser Yussef will be the interior minister but he will be sworn in later," he said, without giving further details.

The powers of what will essentially be an emergency cabinet, would be "effective immediately", he added.

Ugly dispute

Arafat and Qorei have been locked in an ugly dispute over the nature of the new Palestinian cabinet, and the delegation of powers within it.

Earlier on Saturday, efforts by the Fatah central committee to resolve the struggle ended in failure, one of the members said following an afternoon meeting between the two men.

The dispute focused on the powers to be held by the nine-member cabinet headed by Qorei, and particularly those of his interior minister-designate, Yussef.

The crisis that erupted on Thursday, only two days after Qorei was sworn in, stemmed from a rebellion by the Palestinian parliament and the premier himself.

Under threat of expulsion by Israel, Arafat has been pushing for a small, emergency cabinet governing by decrees and keeping a firm grip on national affairs. Such a cabinet would not require parliamentary approval.

Qorei, however, favours a normal cabinet.

At odds with Arafat

The premier was also at odds with Arafat over his choice of Yussef for the all-important post of interior minister.

Yussef fell from Arafat's good graces on Tuesday when he refused to be sworn in with the other ministers. Since then, Arafat has been pushing for his exclusion from the cabinet.

The government was installed by decree, but has yet to be approved by parliament after a session scheduled for Thursday was postponed indefinitely.

Palestinian officials say Qorei tendered his resignation over the dispute although Arafat issued a statement saying he still had full confidence in his premier.

It is the second time this year that the Palestinian leader has fallen out with a prime minister over his powers.

In September Qorei's predecessor, Mahmud Abbas, resigned amid a power struggle with Arafat after less than five months on the job.

- AFP