New Palestinian cabinet named

29 September 2003
The central committee of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement on 27 September approved a new Palestinian cabinet. Although the list has not been finalised, some names remain unchanged from the previous government, such as Saeb Erekat and Yasser Abed Rabbo, both of who are well-established members of the Palestinian Authority (PA). However, it is expected that nearly half of the new ministers will be new faces. Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala), the newly-appointed Prime Minister, is expected to present the names to the Palestine Legislative Council (parliament) in the near future.

The announcement of a new cabinet came soon after news of more deaths in the West Bank. Two Israelis, including a two-month-old baby girl, were killed in an attack on a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on 27 September. Qurei and his new cabinet will have to act decisively if they hope to address the cycle of violence that brought down the government of former prime minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen - MEED 19:9:03).

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