International   

Arafat urged to end stand-off

RAMALLAH (West Bank) April 23. In a last-minute mediation mission, Arab leaders pressed Yasser Arafat on Wednesday to end a standoff with his Prime Minister-designate, Mahmoud Abbas, over the composition of the new Palestinian Cabinet.

The crisis threatens to scuttle a U.S.-backed plan that holds out the promise of Palestinian independence within three years. U.S. State Department officials sided with Mr. Abbas and warned that the dispute is hurting Palestinian statehood aspirations.

Mr. Abbas must present a list of Ministers to Mr. Arafat by midnight on Wednesday or step aside. He has the sole authority to form the Cabinet, but in practice he needs Mr. Arafat's blessing. The Cabinet requires the approval of Parliament, where the ruling Fatah party, which is siding with Mr. Arafat in this showdown, commands a solid majority.

Ostensibly, Mr. Arafat and Mr. Abbas are at odds over whom to name security chief, but at the root of the conflict appears to be Mr. Arafat's refusal to relinquish some of his authority.

Mr. Abbas, in turn, has lost valuable support in Fatah by appointing to his Cabinet several politicians tainted by corruption, and by not bringing in new faces.

International mediators have been watching the standoff closely, and appeared to be exerting intense pressure on Mr. Arafat to back down.In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, Mr. Arafat received phone calls from the Arab League Secretary-General, Amr Moussa, the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, the Qatari Foreign Minister, Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, and the Greek Foreign Minister, George Papandreou, a senior Palestinian official said.Mr. Mubarak called twice, and also dispatched his intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, to the West Bank for hastily arranged talks with Mr. Arafat on Wednesday.

AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• U.S. rejects visit of U.N. inspectors
• France rebukes U.S. sanctions threat
• Fatalities soar, China closes schools
• Tripartite talks begin in Beijing
• An 'intelligence plant', says Galloway
• Obasanjo re-elected amid rigging charge
• Panel to solve Iraqi ethnic crisis
• Arafat urged to end stand-off
• Fear of epidemics in Iraq
• Kabul to prepare list of Afghan war criminals
• LTTE-Colombo honeymoon ends

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu