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February 28, 2003/Adar1 26 5763, Vol. 55, No. 27
Palestinian candidates coy about prime minister
GIL SEDAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - As clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen escalated in recent weeks, the front-runners for the proposed post of Palestinian Authority prime minister have competed to project a moderate appearance.
Mahmoud Abbas, the second in command to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, announced last weekend in Moscow that the Palestinian Authority would call for a suspension of all attacks against Israel for a year.
The statement was made on behalf of Palestinian Authority President Arafat, Abbas said, and was based on an Egyptian proposal promoted in Cairo during talks among the various Palestinian factions.
If Arafat does agree to international pressure to appoint a prime minister, the other leading contender is Finance Minister Salam Fayed.
In recent months, Fayed has met regularly on financial matters with Israeli officials, most notably Dov Weisglass, head of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's bureau.
American and Israeli officials have nothing but praise for Fayed - so much so that Sharon's office leaked to the press that Fayed was Sharon's preferred negotiating partner. That leak, of course, diminished Fayed's prospects of getting the job.
What triggered the speculation over their political future was Arafat's recent announcement that he would meet the international community's demands for reform by appointing a prime minister.
It's not clear, however, whether the United States, Israel and other nations minister would be satisfied. The demand was intended to ensure that real power passes from Arafat to someone more inclined to end Palestinian terrorism and make peace with Israel, but after reaping credit for the bold announcement Palestinian officials made clear that the prime minister's powers would be severely limited and he would be subordinate to Arafat.
In any case, both of the presumed candidates for prime minister announced last week that they had no interest in the job.
"I would not be a candidate for any position that in any way runs contrary to the higher Palestinian interest and would weaken the authority of the elected president of the Palestinian people, Yasser Arafat," said Fayed.
In other words, Fayed seemed to be saying, he would consider the position, but not as part of a plan to neutralize Arafat.
Abu Mazen, as Abbas is known, made a similar statement in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
So far Arafat has not said who would get the job or even when the position would be created - perhaps because Arafat wants to make sure that the person holding the position doesn't forget who the real boss is.
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