Palestinian premier to stay in job :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Palestinian premier to stay in job

Posted by admin on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 12:23 AM

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia grudgingly accepted on Tuesday a demand by Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat that he stay in his post, briefly easing a political crisis that has gripped the authority since Qureia submitted his resignation Saturday.
But tension between the men remained. Qureia insisted his administration will remain a caretaker government and his plan to resign would stand unless Arafat cedes control over Palestinian security services. Qureia said this is needed to restore law and order in the Gaza Strip. Arafat's power is under great challenge as a younger generation battles for control with Arafat's old guard while Israel prepares to withdraw settlers and soldiers from Gaza by the end of 2005. Labor Minister Ghassan Khatib has complained that the fighting among Palestinians is obscuring the real threat to the Palestinian Authority: Israel's military clampdown on Palestinian territories and the economic privation threatening 4 million Palestinians. The crisis "is like a competition between people who want to control a prison," he said Tuesday. As Qureia, his ministers and Arafat met at his shattered West Bank compound Tuesday, Arafat again refused to offer concessions, prompting a ministerial team to postpone a trip to Gaza intended to calm the rebellion. "When the interior minister, who is supposed to be in charge of security, isn't even authorized to deal with security, what is a committee going to be able to do?" said Qadoura Fares, a minister without portfolio. "The crisis is not over." U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield described the situation as a "clash of personalities" unlikely to bring about changes in Palestinian leadership needed to restart peace negotiations with Israel. Since Friday, the coastal region has been beset by kidnappings, demonstrations and attacks on Palestinian Authority security compounds. Demonstrators have demanded an end to widespread government corruption. Arafat, 74, tried defusing the situation Saturday by firing a widely hated police chief and placing a relative of his, Moussa Arafat, into the top Palestinian security post. That prompted more unrest, and Arafat rescinded the appointed two days later. The streets in Gaza were calmer on Tuesday. Representatives of rival political and militant factions such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they had sent a letter to Arafat demanding that he launch political and security changes, including broadening the Palestinian government to include non-Arafat groups.

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