|
Palestinian Minister Quits Differing With Arafat On Cabinet Reshuffle
 |
| "When
Arafat refused to take my suggestion into account, I handed in
my resignation and left the meeting” |
RAMALLAH,
West Bank, May 4 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A Palestinian
minister quit Saturday after a stormy leadership meeting, struggling
to cope with the fall-out of Israel's offensive in the West Bank, as
Israel called for a complete overhaul at the top of the Palestinian
Authority.
Minister
of Parliamentary Affairs Nabil Amr quit over differences with the
Palestinian leadership on the need to reshuffle the cabinet, during an
emergency leadership meeting chaired by Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat.
His
resignation came as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon prepared to
head to Washington Sunday to meet President George W. Bush and discuss
a regional conference, as well as presenting a file which Israel says
links Arafat to Palestinian "terrorist" groups.
"I
suggested appointing a cabinet to deal with pending affairs before
choosing a cabinet which includes the best qualified Palestinians
across the world and not only members of the Legislative
Council," or parliament, he said.
"When
Arafat refused to take my suggestion into account, I handed in my
resignation and left the meeting," Amr explained.
In
a statement carried by the official WAFA agency, the leadership said
it had examined a "program of political and administrative
reforms to rebuild the institutions of the Palestinian
Authority," left in tatters by Israel's offensive last month.
"The
leadership examined the situation which resulted from Israeli
destruction at length ... and decided to hold a series of meetings to
discuss means of rebuilding the Palestinian institutions on a sound
basis," the statement added.
Israeli
Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit called for sweeping reforms of the
Palestinian leadership, calling Arafat's current administration
"corrupt and non-existent."
"There
is no law in the autonomous sectors, where armed gangs rule," he
said.
"The
Palestinians must give themselves a new leadership, and we must help
them do so, because there are important social, economic and cultural
problems to be resolved," he said.
He
said Saudi Arabia, which has stepped up its role in the regional
crisis in recent months, "must demand a new Palestinian
leadership ... the Arabs do not appreciate the actions of Yasser
Arafat, who is giving a boost to fundamentalist elements in the Arab
world."
He
said that Sharon, who has pushed for Arafat to be replaced as
Palestinian leader, would represent Israel in a planned Middle East
conference "even if Arafat is opposite him. They won't be obliged
to shake hands.
"Within
the framework of such a conference, Arafat will assume the role which
he merits, which is a tiny one in the Arab world," he added.
Washington
has struggled to explain its concept of a Middle East peace
conference, which Israeli radio said could be held this summer in
Turkey.
Meanwhile,
the Palestinian authority has instructed the judicial authorities to
hasten in their ruling of the cases involving Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) chief Ahmed Saadat, whose group claimed
responsibility for the assassination in October of an Israeli cabinet
minister, and Fuad Shubaki.
The
leadership met in Ramallah on Friday, and according to a statement
issued by Palestinian News Agency WAFA Friday evening, they discussed
the case of the two who under arrest in the Ramallah central prison
during Arafat’s siege.
|
