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PA PM a Puppet on a String
(Jerusalem Post) Khaled Abu Toameh - According to announcements published in the official PA daily Al-Hayat al-Jadeeda, the cabinet ministers of the new government were directly appointed by Arafat, reducing Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei to a puppet of the PA chairman in the eyes of the Palestinian public. Arafat also made sure that control over the security forces would be placed under the National Security Council, which he heads. Said a former PA cabinet minister: "Abu Ala [Qurei] is not an independent prime minister. By succumbing to Arafat, he has tied his own hands by himself. The situation today is that Qurei needs Arafat's approval for every single step. He is spending more time in the Mukata [Arafat's compound] than he is at the prime minister's office....Some of Arafat's low-ranking aides have more power and influence than the prime minister." "It's time for everyone to admit that this is Arafat's government," says political analyst Hani al-Masri. "Arafat has succeeded in scuttling all attempts to sideline him. Today he is back at the center of Palestinian decision-making."