New Palestinian Prime Minister Qurei's emergency government exposes cracks in the foundation of Arafat's power. Khaled Amayreh reports After an acrimonious marathon of discussion lasting several days, senior Fatah leaders agreed on Sunday to allow Ahmed Qurei's "emergency government" to go forward. According to the temporary compromise, another "normal" government will be formed after 30 days, assuming the emergency government will carry out the tasks entrusted to it, namely reaching a cease-fire with Israel and mobilising international support to put an end to Israel's rampage of murder and terror throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "The prime minister and his cabinet who were sworn in by Arafat will continue their mission until the end of the month according to Palestinian law," said Arafat Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina. One PA official intimated that the compromise reached was only "a temporary modus vivendi" between Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat and the increasingly independent-minded legislative council. Even Qurei himself admitted during a television interview on Monday that "there is no guarantee that the crisis will not reappear a month from now." Fatah MPs, who dominate the council, accepted the compromise begrudgingly, knowing that the concept of an "emergency government" is in conflict with Palestinian Basic Law. Nonetheless, the fact that the emergency period will last no more than 30 days seems to have convinced Fatah leaders, in the words of one lawmaker, to "grant Arafat one last indulgence" in order to avoid a larger crisis with potentially disastrous ramifications for the Palestinian people. There are two main reasons for the current political crisis facing the Palestinian Authority. First, Arafat refuses to rescind his decree, issued three weeks ago, to form an emergency government, despite its manifest incompatibility with Palestinian Basic Law, which grants Arafat the right to declare emergency rule but not the power to appoint an emergency government. It is not clear why the Palestinian leader is being so intransigent on this matter. Arafat is presumably inured to his "old ways" of treating the legislative council as little more than a rubber stamp. He now seems to be trying to relive those past days, not realising how many things have changed since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada more than three years ago. "Arafat's insistence on retaining the emergency government has nothing to do with paramount Palestinian national interests. It is only related to his own selfish political interests," argued Abdul- Sattar Kassem, professor of political science at Al- Najah National University in Nablus. Kassem considers Arafat still very powerful. "Arafat's power lies in his pocket, and he still has a lot of money to give to his cronies and hangers- on," he said. The second reason is Arafat's opposition to the appointment of his former Security Chief Nasr Youssef as interior minister. Youssef was supposed to be sworn-in as interior minister last week, but failed to attend the ceremony in Ramallah, drawing Arafat's disapproval. This behaviour was unacceptable to Arafat, who has been accustomed to absolute obedience from his subordinates. According to the latest compromise, the interior minister seat will remain vacant while the National Security Council, headed by Arafat, will oversee internal security. However, there were unsubstantiated reports on Tuesday that Arafat was inclined to appointed Hakam Bala'awi as acting interior minister. Bala'awi worked as security chief under the late PLO leader Salah Khalaf (Abu Eyad) in Tunis and is known for his loyalty to Arafat. Throughout the period preceding the current Intifada (1993-2000), Arafat tightly controlled every aspect of the Palestinian Authority. He held the reins, controlled the money and made all the decisions. In a certain sense, Arafat was the Palestinian Authority. Now things have changed to a large extent. At 74, and with failing health, Arafat has lost much of his erstwhile power. Confined to his Ramallah headquarters for the past 20 months, he is prevented from exercising effective command and control over the Palestinian Authority, or what has remained of it. Moreover, the virtual collapse of his security agencies as a result of sustained Israeli attacks weakened his ability to impose his orders. Even some of his former loyalists, who had never dared say "No" to Abu Ammar (Arafat's nom de guerre), are now questioning his leadership and refusing to give him the automatic "Yes, sir". For his part, Qurei does not want to repeat the bitter experience of his predecessor Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), who was forced to resign following a long stand-off with Arafat. A few days ago, Qurei reportedly threatened to submit his resignation after it was apparent that the legislative council would not approve his emergency government. However, he reconsidered after some lawmakers convinced him that it was unwise to quit at this delicate juncture with the almost daily loss of Palestinian life and unrelenting house demolitions. Now there are reports that Qurei is putting forth some 15 conditions for staying on the top of the government, including the appointment of Youssef as interior minister and granting him executive powers, including control over PA security forces. However, it is unlikely that Arafat will agree to give up his ultimate power-base -- the security agencies -- even if that causes the collapse of Qurei's government. All this means the same stand-off which toppled the Abbas government could resurface again. Palestinians are utterly disgusted by the recurrent crises within the PA since they serve to divert attention away from daily Israeli atrocities against helpless Palestinian civilians. "The Palestinian public is angry and feels greatly affronted by what is happening. The PA seems like a group of people quarrelling for seats on a wrecked ship about to sink," said Mustafa Al- Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Political Initiative. Al-Barghouti called for the creation of a national unity leadership, saying the Palestinian people "need a leadership, not a government". Notwithstanding, the Palestinians are undergoing extremely hard times. It is true that Arafat's autocracy disturbs many, if not most Palestinians. However, it is equally true that Israel is hounding Arafat, seeking his death or expulsion and political demise for its own ends. Hence, most Palestinians, including most PA lawmakers, feel they have to behave wisely at this delicate juncture in order not to inflict damage on their own cause.
