GAZA
CITY, April 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - As the
Palestinian Legislative Council (parliament) gave Tuesday, April 29,
the new cabinet led by prime minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas (Abu
Mazen) vote of confidence, with 51 votes in favor, 18 against and
three abstentions, here are some insights into the new Palestinian
"reformist" cabinet.
Abu
Mazen is the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) number two, in
his capacity as the PLO secretary general.
Born
in 1935, Abu Mazen fled with his family to Syria after the 1948 Naqba
(when Israeli Diaspora invaded Palestine and forced its indigenous
people to flee their motherland). He holds a B.A. in law and PhD in
the history of Zionism from a Moscow-based university.
In
1968, Abu Mazen became an MP in the then Palestinian parliament. He
heads the Palestinian delegation in the negotiations with the Israelis
in 1977, which resulted in the so-called peace principles with Israel.
Abu
Mazen started behind-the-scene talks with the Israelis through Dutch
mediators in 1989 and orchestrated the Madrid peace negotiations.
He
supervised the marathon and tough negotiations, which brought Oslo
agreements to light and headed the Palestinian delegation in the
Cairo-based Gaza-Jericho talks.
Abu
Mazen's popularity, however, hit rock bottom for his incessant calls
for halting armed resistance against the Israeli occupation.
