| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Middle East | |
| Palestinians Approve Limited Scope for Premier Post | |
| 2003-03-11 | |
| The Palestinian parliament granted day-to-day responsibility for Palestinian affairs to a new post of prime minister today, but left ultimate authority over the security services, negotiations with Israel, and other matters firmly in the hands of Yasir Arafat. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" - the Who The prime minister's precise powers were left vague enough that it will largely be up to the first holder of the job to define and develop them, maneuvering between Mr. Arafat and the reform-minded Palestinians and foreign governments that are trying to curb his authority. Just staying alive while the "militants", Arafat, Israelis and disgruntled Paleos encircle him will be a major achievement Mr. Arafat, who under the law adopted today has the power to nominate and fire the prime minister, has chosen for the position Mahmoud Abbas, his No. 2 in the hierarchy of the Palestine Liberation Organization. keep your friends close, and your enemies closer The parliament did not formally endorse that choice today, and Mr. Abbas, a (mild, very mild)critic of the Palestinians' armed uprising, has said he wants to be sure the position has authority before he accepts it. But the Palestinian legislators were acting with Mr. Abbas in mind, many of them in the hope that he will use the post aggressively to reform Palestinian governance. Can't do that with Arafat holding control - the whole idea of a PM was to get a semi-corrupt, as opposed to totally corrupt, Paleopolitical structure in place to replace Mr. Babywipes hisself "We cannot make the change at once," said Suleiman al-Rumi, an opposition legislator from Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. "We take powers one by one. We build stone by stone." If we let him be credible, then where would we be? On the road to progress, and that would not help the intifada! The legislative changes made today require Mr. Arafat's approval. As, apparently, everything else does.. During a day of procedural bickering over precise statutory wording, Mr. Rumi was at one point teased by Gazan colleagues for not playing his usual troublemaking role. But, pronouncing himself satisfied as he collected his papers this evening, he said, "There is nothing to oppose here." "...and if we did, what difference would it make? It's all a sham." Israel denied 10 legislators "militants" permission to travel here from Gaza, and at least one, Marwan Barghouti, is in detention, accused by Israel of terrorism, a charge he denies. Nevertheless, this was the best-attended session in Ramallah of the 88-member Palestinian Legislative Council since the early days of the conflict more than two years ago, because Israel eased its usual restrictions to let most attend. "Leave your weapons, explosive belts and Qassam rockets at home please." That, together with Israel's muted response to the appointment of Mr. Abbas, was a sign that Israel would like to see this process succeed — or at least that it would not like to be seen as the reason for its failure. The United States has been pressing hard for months for the appointment of a prime minister, seeing that as a means of curbing Mr. Arafat's authority and ultimately replacing him. Nice try - we'll see if Arafat even lets him speak Mr. Abbas, who is known as Abu Mazen, has solid relationships with Israeli and American diplomats, and he was the Bush administration's preferred candidate for the job. Diplomats seeking to restart peace efforts say Mr. Abbas, who is expected to accept the post, will need concessions from Israel like an easing of closures or an end to targeted killings of militants to enhance his popular standing. But violence continues to outstrip any diplomacy. How about showing Paleo progress first? Impossible you say? why? Tonight, Palestinian gunmen opened fire near a settlement in the West Bank city of Hebron, sparking a fierce battle with Israeli troops, the army said. [One Israeli soldier was killed and five were wounded, Reuters reported on Tuesday.] Two settlers were killed Friday night in a Palestinian gun attack nearby, in the settlement of Qiryat Arba. That's not Paleo progress Palestinians reported tonight that an Israeli armored column had entered the central Gaza Strip near the town of Khan Yunis. That cause/effect thing Fred keeps harping about... Yet, in a sign there may be some Israeli-Palestinian cooperation behind the scenes, Israeli troops pulled back today from two areas of the northern Gaza Strip that they seized Thursday in what the army called an open-ended mission to suppress Palestinian rocket fire. The army said it was maintaining positions elsewhere in northern Gaza. A senior Israeli official in Jerusalem said Israel had struck a deal with Palestinian security officials to withdraw from that particular area in exchange for Palestinian action there against the rockets. "There has been a quiet understanding," the official said. "You keep it quiet and we'll be understanding" Top Palestinian officials in Gaza, who recently discussed the Israeli actions there, declined to comment. It might be politically embarrassing for such officials to be seen now as agreeing to help protect Israelis, particularly since the army on Saturday killed a top Hamas leader, Ibrahim al-Makadmah, in Gaza City. Nice whacking! 5 Hellfires = good intel on who was in the car - that'll make Hamas more nervous The new positions in northern Gaza, in and near Beit Lahia, had put Israeli armor in areas densely populated with civilians, and military leaders acknowledged that the operation carried high risks. Since mid-February, when Hamas blew up an Israeli tank and killed four soldiers in Gaza, the army has staged numerous raids there, killing dozens of people, including civilians. Those "civilians" generally were engaged in throwing rocks, fire bombs, explosives... ya know, the stuff normal Paleo civilians do The army characterized the troop movement as a redeployment, saying the soldiers would return as necessary. Don't make us come back here.... Asaf Lidrati, an army spokesman, said Israeli forces had been positioned within Gaza but farther to the east, near the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun. Casting doubt on the possibility of any renewed Palestinian security effort, he said the army had established a mile-deep "security zone" in northern Gaza that it felt free to flood with forces in the event of renewed rocket fire. "Maybe at this very moment, for the last five or six hours, there are not forces in this spot," he said, referring to Beit Lahia, "but they can be there in no time." Oh, a 5 -6 hour lull? now who said they weren't making progress in the "peace process" The new prime minister will operate within the Palestinian Authority, which was created in the Oslo peace process to provide limited self-rule to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Mr. Arafat is president of the Palestinian Authority, which has seen its powers curtailed, its institutions hollowed out and its buildings flattened during the conflict. Cause/effect again.... The Israeli Army has seized control of substantial parts of the West Bank and, last week, for the first time took up positions in parts of Gaza. Israel has accused the Palestinian Authority under Mr. Arafat of doing little or nothing to curb terrorism, and even of fomenting it. Palestinians accuse Israel under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of seeking to destroy their approximation of a national government and, with it, their dream of statehood. "approximation"? LOL It was unclear today precisely what kind of system of governance the Palestinians were moving toward. Somalian?
Is that a compliment Dominique? But advisers to Mr. Arafat said they were thinking more in terms of Jordan or Egypt, where the prime ministers are less potent. Impotent? Only the prime minister will have the power to appoint other ministers, but his overall government will be subject to approval from the president. The president can fire only the prime minister. This will be like treading water until Arafat meets his demise and/or civil war erupts with IJ and Hamas But the prime minister will also be accountable to the legislature, a boisterous body that appears to long for an executive it can chastise, having chafed at Mr. Arafat's frequent disregard. Today, when he finished a speech to the legislators announcing his appointment of Mr. Abbas, Mr. Arafat said that he assumed from their show of hands that they approved his choice. In fact, he was quickly informed, they were just approving the idea of having a prime minister. The prime minister was granted "responsibility for law and order and internal security." But the legislators left intact an article declaring that "the president of the Palestinian authority is the highest leader of the Palestinian forces." | |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #1 So let me get this straight: They have a council of 88 members who are looking to France as a model. Well they can have lots of meetings, form committes until the end of time, and generally obey Parkenson's Law for the greater entertainment of themselves and Rantburg. Well, if they quit booming, then that may be considered progress. Ahhh hrummmmm......... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-11 13:58:24 |