Qureih Demands Guarantees, While Sharon Conditions This To "Fighting Terrorism"

     Al-Hayat     2003/09/9

Occupied Jerusalem, Nazareth

In a development that could ease the Authority and revitalize the Roadmap, Ahmad Qureih has in principle accepted the position of Prime Minister. This could represent a positive step in as far as he has obtained the full backing of the European Union, and the "American message" addressed to Israel asking it not to rule out talks with him. While Israel's position towards Qureih marked a slight change when it conditioned its dealing with him on "fighting terrorism," Tel Aviv pursued its provocation campaign aimed at expulsing President Yasser Arafat or putting him under house arrest.

A senior Palestinian official announced yesterday that Arafat had notified the PLO's legislative council of Qureih's acceptance to assume the position of Prime Minister and form a new government, succeeding the resigning PM Mahmoud Abbas. He added that the Palestinian leadership was pursuing its contacts with international parties "towards ensuring the success of the incoming government and preventing its failure." In parallel, Qays Abdulkarim, a member of the executive committee, reported that Arafat had said that Qureih accepted the offer in principle." In any case, Qureih will no doubt obtain the legislative council's vote of confidence, when it holds its meeting in this regard in the next few days.

It still not known whether Qureih obtained the European and American guarantees, which he had set as a condition for accepting the position. Yesterday, he had asked for guarantees, including Israel's commitment to the Roadmap, lift the siege on Arafat and stop the total war on Palestinian radicals. He asserted that "these are the issues that need to change before anything else, and if Israel does not change its attitude, then we are in no need of a government or of a Prime Minister." Last night, Qureih held successive meetings with foreign diplomats, and obtained the full support of the European Union, which described him as a "man of peace who wants peace with Israel," and pledged to "make every effort possible to support and help him."

According to Israel's Channel 2, the U.S. sent a message to Israel according to which it is "forbidden" to rule out Qureih beforehand, and that he should be given a chance. Sharon's communications advisor was reported to have said that if Qureih implements the Roadmap, then it will be possible to negotiate with him.

In general, Qureih is perceived as a moderate person, and one of the architects of the 1993 Oslo Accords, which is supposed to improve his position towards the U.S. and bring hope as far as salvaging the Roadmap.

At the Palestinian level, Qureih enjoys the support of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and that of the Fatah Central Committee, of which he is a member. Moreover, he is close to MPs in his quality of Speaker of the Legislative Council. Qureih was also the mediator between the premiership and the president; he was the one who authored the idea of the binding document to define the prerogatives of the President and that of the Prime Minister, to ensure a functional complementarity.

In parallel, Hamas did not oppose his appointment, but it insisted on its opposition to any approach that would be based on the Oslo Accords, while the Islamic Jihad said it would support him provided he protects the Palestinian people from the Israeli aggression and that he confirms the right to resistance.

Will Qureih  succeed where Abbas failed? In Qureih 's view, the answer to this question depends on the U.S. and European guarantees and Israel's commitment to implement the Roadmap and life the siege over Arafat and the Palestinian people. But observers believe that even international guarantees are not enough, especially since Qureih  himself has the experience through the Oslo Accords, which did not stop the war Israel launched against them, maintaining that the only way out is that Israeli displays a true will to achieve peace.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has asked to send international peacekeeping troops to separate the Palestinians and Israelis, calling upon the Palestinians to form their new government wisely. The Saudi cabinet, in its session held in Jeddah yesterday under the presidency of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, condemned Israel's policies, blaming it for not committing to any of the Roadmap's conditions and pursuing the construction of the so-called "security fence," which is designed to absorb additional Palestinian land.