Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, also known as Abu Ala, said Sunday he has set up a cabinet and will present it to parliament for approval later this week.
Qurei and Yasser Arafat held a series of meetings in recent days, including one on Sunday.
Emerging from Arafat's compound Sunday, Qurei said, "We have finished the composition of the cabinet and we are going to present it to the Palestinian legislature on Wednesday for a vote of confidence ... We also agreed on a formula to unify the work of the security services of the Palestinian Authority headed by President Arafat in order to fulfill all the obligations to end chaos and achieve security," he said.
A major hurdle to the much delayed formation of a new Palestinian government was cleared late Friday when Qurei accepted Arafat's choice for the post of interior minister.
The premier's preferred candidate, General Nasser Youssef, was dropped to make way for close Arafat associate Hakam Balawi.
It had been suggested that Youssef might take one of four deputy prime minister posts but Qurei announced that he had "declined to take any position in this government". "Nasser Youssef is not on the cabinet list," he said. Qurei said the new line-up would include 24 ministers. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
