Palestinians get Cabinet packed with academics
The Palestinian parliament averted a crisis tonight by approving a new 24-member Cabinet dominated by academics after a major move toward long-promised government reform.
The Cabinet took office after a swearing-in ceremony at the headquarters of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
The 54-12 vote, with four abstentions, ended days of wrangling between rebellious MPs and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, who initially sought to retain political cronies from the Yasser Arafat era.
Abbas intervened in the dispute between parliament and his prime minister, and persuaded MPs from his Fatah Party to support a Cabinet largely consisting of ministers chosen for their expertise, not political loyalty.
The crisis strengthened Abbas and weakened Qureia, who may not survive as prime minister beyond parliamentary elections in July, after which a new Cabinet would be formed. After Arafat’s death in November, Abbas and Qureia co-operated during a transition period, but relations have cooled since then.
Abbas won last month’s presidential election in part on a promise to reform the government and the security services. His new Cabinet is largely devoid of politicians, and 17 of the ministers are newcomers.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom praised the appointment of the Cabinet as a “positive step,” but said he would withhold final judgment until the government’s approach to militant groups becomes clear.
Abbas has said he would avoid confrontation with militants, and it appears unlikely the new Cabinet would adopt a different approach.
Virtually all the new ministers are experts in the field they are to oversee, including 10 with doctorates, a medical doctor, a lawyer, several engineers and several with master’s degrees.
Only two of the 24 are women.
Among the key appointments are Nasser Yousef, a tough ex-general, as interior minister who would oversee security reform and try to rein in Palestinian militants. Arafat’s nephew Nasser Al-Kidwa, the former Palestinian representative to the UN was chosen as foreign minister.
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