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More of the Same in Arafat's Cabinet
(Ha'aretz) Danny Rubinstein - Although the final list has not been published officially, it is already clear there aren't many innovations in Yasser Arafat's planned new cabinet. The one truly significant change is the appointment of Fatah veteran Hanni al Hassan as interior minister instead of Razak Abdel Yahya. The Palestinian interior minister is responsible for the Palestinian Authority's security forces, and up until a few months ago, Arafat held the position. But he was forced to hand it over to Yahya after he was pressed for reforms in the security apparatus. Yahya's appointment did not please Fatah party leaders, who wanted a Fatah man in the post and not the independent Yahya.