There was a personnel shift in the Palestinian Authority as
Mahmoud Abbas resigned on Saturday and Ahmed Qurei (also
known as Abu Ala) was selected by Yasser Arafat to take his
place. Israeli government sources said that the selection of
a prime minister is an internal Palestinian process and they
will deal with the new prime minister according to the way he
performs. The sources said that Abu Ala is a stronger person
than Mahmoud Abbas and more determined to advance himself,
but that ultimately he probably has no intention of fighting
terror.
Abu Ala was the speaker of the Palestinian parliament. His
appointment must be confirmed by the Palestinian parliament,
which is expected to convene soon.
Earlier Qurei said that he would not be able to govern
without Arafat's support, and he said Israel must change its
approach to the PA chairman. He also said he would only
accept the job if Washington and Europe guarantee Israeli
compliance with the road map. Later he seemed to accept the
position unconditionally.
Israel and the United States believe that Arafat does not
want peace and say that he is behind terror and refuse to
deal with him. Arafat remained in his headquarters for over
18 months. Israel says he is free to leave but he may not be
allowed back.
In resigning, Mahmoud Abbas said that the United States had
not done enough to enforce Israeli compliance with the
internationally-brokered road map for Middle East peace.
An EU spokeswoman said that Qurei is highly respected by the
European Union and can count on the 15-nation bloc's support
for peacemaking.
The U.S. State Department was cautious about Qurei on Monday,
although U.S. officials have dealt with him extensively over
the years and on some occasions have praised him in
public.
"Whoever becomes the new Palestinian prime minister, we're
looking to see if he has the commitment, the authority and
the resources to move forward on the road map," said State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
"At this juncture that means principally to move forward on
taking control of the security situation in acting against
groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad," he told a briefing.
Qurei said that he wants to improve the lives of Palestinians
who have largely been confined to their communities by a
network of Israeli military barriers during the past three
years of fighting.
Earlier Monday, Qurei met with Andrei Vdovin, the Russian
envoy to the Middle East.
Ahmed Qurei has long been the No. 3 leader in the Fatah
movement, after Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas. He was a key
player in the secret talks that led to the 1993 Oslo accords,
which led to Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza.
He also led the Palestinians in negotiations with Israel in
the following years.
The 65-year-old politician is considered one of the few
Palestinians who have credibility with Israel but can also
count on the support of Arafat.
In February, Qurei was quoted as saying he was not interested
in the prime minister's job. "I'm not interested in this
position, not today, not tomorrow, and not after some years,"
he said.
Last year, Qurei said the Palestinian Authority had to take
measures to convince the Israeli peace camp that it has a
peace partner and that the Palestinians want peace. Qurei
also said that Palestinian mistakes were among the reasons
that many Israelis no longer supported peace and that the
Right had come to power in Israel.
"Unfortunately, even the other [peace] movement has begun to
dwindle in Israel apparently due to some of the methods that
we use," he said. "We are not talking about legitimate
resistance here. But I do say that some of the actions that
harm us need to stop. We must know how to organize a proper
resistance so that it will bring results and not
disappointment."
Shortly after the Camp David talks broke down, Qurei hinted
that violence would be an option for the Palestinians.
"When we are convinced a peace agreement is not possible, no
doubt our people and the leadership of the Palestinian people
will have other alternatives," Qurei told a news conference
in Ramallah in August 2000, less than two months before the
intifadah's outbreak. "We have the right to struggle in all
ways to achieve the rights of our people, to put an end to
the occupation of our land. I am not calling for violence,
but I don't know how the people will react."
Qurei was born in 1937, joined Arafat's Fatah movement in
1965, and became the PLO's top money manager by 1983. He
returned with the PLO from Tunis in 1994 after the Oslo
Accords. Since his return, he has been living in his home
village of Abu Dis, southeast of Jerusalem.
