Sunday, October 12, 2003
Arafat has driven another puppet who wouldn't play along from power.
Palestinian PM Says He Won't Keep Job
Speaking after a meeting of the Fatah central committee, Qureia would only say that a new government would be formed in three weeks "with a new prime minister, too."
Qureia currently heads an emergency Cabinet appointed a week ago by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Over the past week, though, he has clashed bitterly with Arafat about who would be the new security chief and whether Arafat had the power to appoint a Cabinet by decree.
On Sunday, Qureia told Fatah officials he did not intend to stay on as prime minister when the emergency government's term expires in three weeks.
If Qureia follows through, he would be the second Palestinian prime minister to give up the job since last month.
His predecessor, Mahmoud Abbas, resigned last month after just four months in office, caught between Israeli demands for a crack down on militants and Arafat's refusal to give up any power over security forces.