RAMALLAH, West Bank -Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas intervened yesterday to end a political crisis over the formation of a new Cabinet after it became apparent the turmoil could bring down his prime minister.
Legislators from Abbas' Fatah party had said they would not support Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's new Cabinet despite promises he would replace corruption-tainted politicians with professional appointees. The proposed Cabinet would make it easier for Abbas to carry out reforms than one stacked with politicians.
Qureia will have to step down if he fails to get his Cabinet approved. A vote originally set for yesterday was delayed until at least today.
Qureia's woes underscored the increasingly freewheeling nature of Palestinian politics following last year's death of Yasser Arafat, with politicians more willing to break party discipline.
Several legislators said they wanted to push Qureia out and would not support any Cabinet he proposes. During years as parliament speaker, Qureia made many enemies among legislators, who perceived him as doing Arafat's bidding at the expense of the legislature.
Abbas had largely remained on the sidelines during the political turmoil of the past few days, but he convened Fatah legislators yesterday and urged them to support Qureia's Cabinet. An angry Qureia did not participate in the meeting, instead returning to his home in the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis.
Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen, told legislators they should set their criticism aside because the new Cabinet would serve only until legislative elections in July.
The whole world is watching
and we have a lot to do Abbas told the group, according to Fatah legislator Abdel Karim Abu Salah.
Some participants said they would withdraw their opposition, provided Qureia presents the new team to Fatah legislators before the parliament vote and removed two proposed ministers -outgoing Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Qureia had said his new Cabinet would largely consist of technocrats, not politicians, but he asked to make an exception for Shaath and Erekat, members of Parliament and political veterans. Erekat said earlier yesterday he did not want to be part of the new Cabinet.
Fatah legislator Mohammed Horani said the crisis appeared to be over.
We have agreed in principle with Abu Mazen to let this crisis pass he said.
Late Tuesday, more than two dozen legislators, including many from Fatah, met in a Ramallah hotel and decided not to back the new list, participants said. Fatah controls more than half the seats in the
85-member Palestinian Parliament, and Qureia needs broad support from his party's legislators.
Earlier this week, Qureia presented a Cabinet to Parliament that included only four new faces, prompting an angry outcry from legislators. He then returned with a promise to overhaul his team and appoint many more professionals.
Israel and the United States have long demanded reforms to the corruption-plagued Palestinian Authority, and success in that task is one of the key tests for Abbas.
Abbas and Qureia long have been political rivals, but they cooperated after Arafat's death in November. In recent weeks, their relationship has cooled.
The Fatah party has dominated Palestinian politics for four decades, ruling the Palestinian Authority since its inception in 1994. Some say voter frustration with corruption and cronyism will hurt the party's chances in the July election.
In Israel, Police Chief Moshe Karadi asked for an additional $14 million to deal with what they said are serious warnings about a possible attack by Jewish extremists on a key Jerusalem holy site.
Israeli security officials have warned for months that extremists might try to attack the shrine -known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram as-Sharif --to inflame Israeli-Arab tensions and sabotage Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate the Gaza Strip this summer.
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Palestinian Cabinet minister for negotiations with Israel Saeb Erekat briefs the media at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah yesterday. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia was to appear last night before the Fatah
