Palestinian Cabinet List Gets Arafat’s OK

A prospective Palestinian government was fast taking form Saturday, as contentious President Yasser Arafat and his ruling Fatah faction approved a tentative list of 23 new Cabinet members reportedly peppered with Arafat allies.

The proposed Cabinet, which must be finalized by the Palestine Liberation Organization before going before a Palestinian parliament vote this week, marks a sharp departure from the internationally orchestrated -- and brief -- reign of U.S.-backed Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.

Its makeup also is a solid sign of Arafat’s return to the center stage of Palestinian politics.

Gone from the new government is Mohammed Dahlan, a U.S. favorite who was security chief under Abbas’ government. His reluctance to clash with extremist Palestinian armed factions such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad drew anger from Israel.

Still, Dahlan was regarded as relatively independent, and Israel held out some hope that he would confront the militants.

The Interior Ministry, which is responsible for security, probably will be charged to Nasser Yousef, a Palestinian general who was exiled in Tunisia with Arafat and remains a close ally. The question of how much authority he would be given was still being debated.

The Cabinet list was drafted by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister-designate Ahmed Korei, a longtime friend hastily tapped by Arafat when the Abbas government crumbled this month. The speedy, low-key arrangement of the Korei government stands in contrast to the machinations Abbas faced.

Abbas and Arafat managed to cobble together a Cabinet only after Egypt’s intelligence chief flew in and prodded the pair into a reluctant union in April. World leaders phoned in their encouragement. And the United States dangled a prize -- after Abbas came up with a Cabinet, it promised, it would unveil the “road map” to Israeli security and Palestinian statehood.

Now, a few months later, Palestinians are groping for a new government in an utterly changed climate: Today is the third anniversary of the Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule; the peace plan has fallen apart; Abbas’ carefully crafted cease-fire is long dead; and the death toll is mounting.

This weekend’s Cabinet debates drew barely a shrug from Israel and most international mediators, many of whom view Arafat’s renewed relevance with trepidation. His meddling helped speed the breakdown of the former government, and he is living under a standing Israeli threat of deportation if the fighting worsens.

Much of the talk of the forthcoming government centered more on squaring off against Israeli policy than on piecing back together a shattered peace plan.

“The Cabinet’s mission will be to confront [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon’s plans. He does not want to continue with the peace process,” Arafat aide Hani Hassan said. “We’ve regained the initiative we lost during and after the Iraq war.”

The list of nominees hasn’t been publicized. But Palestinian sources who reviewed the names said the new Cabinet probably wouldn’t revive the bitter Palestinian feuding of recent months -- mostly because Arafat had a bigger hand in crafting this Cabinet.

Still, Korei’s government will have to battle the skepticism of outsiders who regard the entire configuration as too tightly tied to Arafat. The United States already has expressed some skepticism over the new government.

The proposed Cabinet revives old-guard Palestinian familiars such as Saeb Erekat, who stepped down from Abbas’ government in disgust over the stalled peace process, and Yasser Abed-Rabbo, whom Abbas reportedly deemed too close to Arafat to be helpful.

At least two key ministers are expected to keep their jobs: Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath and Finance Minister Salam Fayyad. Both men are regarded as politically moderate and remain popular with the United States.

The Cabinet was approved swiftly by Arafat and the Fatah committee but ran into controversy Saturday night when it was brought to the PLO.

Sources said members of Fatah’s “young guard” -- those who came of age during the first Palestinian uprising of the late 1980s and early 1990s and who aren’t included in the Fatah committee -- were displeased with some of the choices their elders made. Abed-Rabbo emerged from the talks to tell reporters that it could take a few days to settle the differences.

The exclusion of Dahlan remains a sticking point both internationally and on the Palestinian street, particularly in Gaza, where he was a popular security chief. Last week, 1,000 armed demonstrators marched in the streets of Gaza to show support for Dahlan.

In a hint of the generational splits that run through Fatah, demonstrators returned Saturday to burn photographs of “old guard” members. Frightened by Dahlan’s potential for undermining stability, the old guard reportedly was hoping to coax him back into the government.

But Dahlan has said he wants no part of it. In an interview published Saturday in Beirut’s Daily Star newspaper, Dahlan accused members of Arafat’s inner circle of sabotaging Abbas for personal -- presumably political -- gain.

“Time will come for our people to know every detail on the negative and even destructive role these figures played throughout the past few years,” he said.

Special correspondent Maher Abukhater contributed to this report from Ramallah, West Bank.