Members of the Palestinian Cabinet on Wednesday submitted their resignations to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, apparently to avoid being ousted by parliament in a vote of no-confidence. As a result, the vote was canceled.
Arafat accepted the resignations, Ahmed Qurei, the Palestinian parliament speaker said. Arafat now has two weeks to present parliament with a new Cabinet list, said the speaker.
Earlier, Arafat has set Jan. 20 as the date for presidential and parliamentary elections, Qurei declared Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear whether parliament would be dissolved as a result of Arafat's decision.
The speaker read what he said was a presidential decree "inviting all Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem for free and general presidential and legislative elections on the date of Jan. 20, 2003."
Arafat said in the past that the elections would be held in January, but until Wednesday refused to declare a specific date. The Palestinian leader's suprising move apparently was a result of a showdown with members of his Fatah movement over his refusal to fire Cabinet ministers seen as corrupt or incompetent, AP reported.
Arafat's Cabinet was to be presented to parliament on Wednesday for approval. However, a group of Fatah lawmakers has threatened to vote against the Cabinet.
Before the parliament session, Arafat summoned Fatah representatives in a bid to persuade them to approve his Cabinet. Palestinian officials, according to AP, said that in the meeting Wednesday morning, legislators told Arafat that they would vote against it.
They proposed as a compromise that Arafat set a date for elections, meaning the current Cabinet would only be a temporary one. In this case, the legislators said, they would be willing to limit their vote to the five new ministers, appointed in June, who are seen as honest and hardworking.
Arafat agreed, the officials said. According to the Palestinian law, parliament must be dissolved 90 days before the elections.
Gaza raid
Israeli troops moved into the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, just hours after senior officials from both sides met to discuss ways to reduce tensions.
The Israeli army took control of the town of Beit Lahiya and part of Beit Hanoun.
A military statement said soldiers were searching Beit Hanoun and had detained four Palestinians. It said the operation followed "recent attacks against Israeli soldiers in the area," and the soldiers would leave the area after the sweep.
At least 60 tanks, armored vehicles and jeeps rolled into Beit Lahiya , residents and security sources said. The residents said that they woke up by the buzz of tanks and army personnel carries rolling into the village, adding that they could also hear intensive shooting from heavy machine guns.
A Palestinian security spokesman said that the Israeli army forces drove into the neighborhood of Al Mansheya, which is about 3 kilometers far from Erez Crossing on the border between Gaza Strip and Israel.
Arafat speech
The White House on Tuesday dismissed a speech by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat condemning violence against Israeli citizens, saying it contained "nothing new."
"Mr. Arafat's speech is yet one more reason why the president is looking forward, not backward, when it comes to bringing reform to the institutions that the Palestinian people deserve so they can have a better future," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters.
(Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
