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Resignation of the PA Cabinet: What Does it Mean?
(Ha'aretz) - Head of Military Intelligence Major General Aharon Ze'evi said Wednesday that the decision by the members of the recently reshuffled Palestinian cabinet to resign was "an earthquake in the PA," which would eventually lead to the replacement of Yasser Arafat as Palestinian leader. The ministers submitted their resignations apparently to avoid being ousted by a parliamentary vote of no-confidence, a "very clear" indication of the drop in Arafat's status. Since last April's Operation Defensive Shield, the Palestinian public has been "in a deep process of internalizing the failure." Ze'evi also claimed that terrorist organizations were having trouble finding volunteers for suicide attacks against Israel. Mohammed Horani, a Fatah member who pushed for the no-confidence motion, estimated that 57 Fatah-affiliated lawmakers in the 88-seat parliament were poised to vote against the new cabinet. This is seen as a symptom of the rift within Fatah between those from the local movement and those who came to the territories with Arafat in 1994. Arafat is to present a new cabinet in two weeks, and has announced new presidential and parliamentary elections for January 20, 2003.