MIDDLE EAST: Palestine needs better government

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Att.Editors: The following item is by the United Arab Emirates news agency (WAM)

ABU DHABI, Apr 22 2003 (IPS) - A major United Arab Emirates (UAE) English daily today commented on the rift between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and his chosen prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, over the latter’s choice of cabinet.

Commenting on the issue under the topic – Palestine needs a cabinet", the paper said in part: ôThe deadlock in Palestine between President Yasser Arafat and his in-coming Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas should not be allowed to continue.

ôAbbas has nominated the members of the cabinet he wishes to form, and the list should now go to the Palestinian Parliament for approval. Arafat should be prepared to relax his tight control of the Palestinian government, and be ready to trust the parliament, which represents the Palestinian people, to make the right decisions.

ôIt is almost inevitable that a prime minister and president would make different selections of people for various ministries, and such disputes happen in most countries in the world. Such a routine political dispute has become a crisis in Palestine partly because it is happening for the first time, and partly because there is a struggle for power between the two men.

ôOne reason to resolve this deadlock is because it is threatening to derail the plan for a roadmap to peace, and the Palestinians should not give their enemies any excuse to blame them for wrecking the plan. But the main reason to go ahead with the nomination of the cabinet for parliamentary approval is because Palestine needs better government," concluded the paper.