Palestinian Minister Nominated for Premier

Sunday, September 7, 2003

By James Bennet

New York Times Writer

Mr. Arafat's office issued a statement late tonight saying, "President Arafat issued a decree nominating Abu Ala as the prime minister, authorized to form the government." If he takes the job, Mr. Ahmed Qurei, known as Abu Ala, will become prime minister at a moment of extraordinary tension between the adversaries. Israel declared "all out" war on Hamas after a Hamas suicide bombing killed 22 people on Aug. 19. On Saturday, an Israeli warplane dropped a 550-pound bomb on a Gaza City apartment building where Sheik Yassin was having lunch.

JERUSALEM -- NYT
Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, today nominated Ahmed Qurei, the speaker of the Palestinian parliament and a skilled politician with a reputation as a pragmatist, to serve as the new Palestinian prime minister.

Mr. Qurei, known as Abu Ala, would replace Mahmoud Abbas, whose abrupt resignation on Saturday deepened an already severe crisis building between Israelis and Palestinians despite the Bush administration's initiative for Middle East peace.

Mr. Qurei, 65, was weighing the offer tonight. He was said by associates to be interested in the post but wary of repeating Mr. Abbas's experience.

The announcement came on a day when leaders on both sides seemed intent on reassuring their publics that they would persevere in a violent struggle, rather than that there was any realistic, near-term prospect of peace.

The founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, vowed reprisal attacks for an Israeli airstrike on Saturday in Gaza City that had been meant to kill him. "Everybody is ready to fight," he said, as well-wishers clogged the streets outside his home.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel was quoted by an Israeli newspaper as saying all Hamas leaders were "marked for death." Some Israeli ministers repeated demands that Mr. Arafat be deported.

Late tonight, Israeli helicopter gunships attacked what Israel called a Hamas arsenal in the central Gaza Strip. An Israeli security official said a helicopter had fired a single missile at the building, causing further explosions as stored weapons were detonated. Palestinian officials said nine people were wounded.

Earlier today, Israel sealed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip and tightened formidable restrictions on Palestinian movement, citing increased threats of Palestinian violence.
(More: NYTimes.com)

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Dan