Abbas nominated first Palestinian PM says Arafat

President Yasser Arafat said today that Mr Mahmoud Abbas, a leading moderate in the Palestine Liberation Organization, had been…

President Yasser Arafat said today that Mr Mahmoud Abbas, a leading moderate in the Palestine Liberation Organization, had been nominated as the first Palestinian prime minister.

Mr Abbas, 67, has yet to accept the post, but his agreement could mark a turning point in a 29-month-old Palestinian uprising, which he has criticised for the use of armed attacks on Israelis instead of popular protest against occupation.

Mr Arafat did not set a date for the appointment or elaborate on the powers Abbas would hold in his address to members of the PLO's 122-member Palestine Central Council in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Mr Abbas has made clear he will only accept the job if the role embodied enough powers to run the Palestinian Authority effectively. He declined to comment to reporters about the nomination today.

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"Our brothers in the executive committee have agreed on the initiative of naming my brother Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority and we are seeking your consent," Mr Arafat said in his speech.

Mr Arafat also urged Palestinian factions waging the uprising to accept a one-year truce with Israel proposed by Egypt "that could spare our people the mad plans of the Israeli government."

Mr Arafat has been under intense pressure to rid the Palestinian Authority of corruption and violence through widespread reforms and appoint a prime minister with real powers to govern the day-to-day affairs of the Authority.

Mr Abbas, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Mazen, is considered a Palestinian moderate who has often served as a back-channel between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, particularly since the uprising strained relations.

While Mr Abbas lacks Mr Arafat's charisma and high media profile, he commands respect among Palestinian officials, Israel and the United States as the behind-the-scenes brains of the PLO. He has often been mentioned as a potential successor to Mr Arafat.

Yet Abbas is not particularly popular among ordinary Palestinians who resent his conciliatory approach toward Israel, especially in the wake of the uprising in which at least 1,918 Palestinians and 722 Israelis have been killed.