MIDDLE EAST: The Palestinian parliament yesterday approved a cabinet of mostly new faces unassociated with the corruption-plagued era of Yasser Arafat, signalling a commitment to reforms viewed as crucial to peacemaking.
Ratification of the 24-member cabinet, including 17 newcomers, was widely seen as a victory for President Mahmoud Abbas after days of political crisis ahead of a 25-nation meeting in London next week on Palestinian reform.
At least seven Arafat loyalists on a cabinet list first proposed by Prime Minister Mr Ahmed Korei were replaced by technocrats chosen for their professional skills.
"It is a cabinet of professionals and I hope it will shoulder its responsibilities," Mr Korei said after parliament voted in the government by a margin of 54-12, with four abstentions.
Israel and the United States have led international demands for an overhaul of the Palestinian Authority, especially the consolidation of often rival security services to keep militants in check and end violence.
"What we would like to see is a new policy [ of] fighting against the extremists and encouraging the moderates to move towards peace and quiet with Israel," Israeli Foreign Minister Mr Silvan Shalom said after the parliamentary vote.
Mr Abbas, who has reached a ceasefire with Israel that has boosted hopes for peace, made reform a key issue in the January 9th presidential election. Long-time rival Mr Korei initially presented a cabinet roster packed with allies of Arafat.
Arafat's death on November 11th, however, has left his "old guard" more vulnerable to a younger generation in his dominant Fatah faction. Lawmakers' ratification of a cabinet was delayed three times this week.
The new government was sworn in in a gala ceremony on a red carpet, with 22 Muslim ministers placing their hands on the Koran and two Christian ministers touching the Bible. A portrait of Arafat hung on a nearby wall.
"I believe this is one of the happiest days in the history of the Palestinian people," Mr Abbas later told reporters. "We have professional, young and dedicated people. They will perform all their obligations to conduct a professional job." Ultimately, backroom arm-twisting by Mr Abbas and pressure for change from Fatah legislators such as Mr Ahmed Deek and Mr Mohammed al-Hourani forced Mr Korei, an Arafat appointee, to bend.
Failure to win parliamentary approval for a government would have forced Mr Korei's resignation.