IT'S A NEW PALESTINE:

Crisis in Palestinian Authority (Khaled Abu Toameh, Feb. 21, 2005, THE JERUSALEM POST)

A crisis erupted in the Palestinian Authority on Monday when Palestinian legislators attacked Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, accusing him of retaining corrupt ministers and including only a few new faces in his new cabinet.

Qurei was supposed to present the new lineup to the Palestinian Legislative Council on Monday for approval. However, the vote was delayed until Tuesday following a stormy debate during which many legislators threatened to vote against the proposed cabinet.

And in yet another blow to Qurei, former security minister Muhammad Dahlan, who was tipped to become minister of cabinet affairs, announced that he would not take the job.

"Dahlan refuses to join the cabinet because it does not fulfill the hopes of the Palestinian people and lacks the true standards of change," a PA official said.

Democratic rhetoric creates democratic reality.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 22, 2005 12:50 AM