Ramallah (West Bank), May 01: The Palestinian cabinet of new Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas held its first meeting without Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat today, condemning a deadly Israeli raid on Gaza City and calling for world pressure to rein in Israel's Army. Arafat had headed the cabinet until Abbas was sworn in yesterday, a move seen by the international community as a key step to limiting the veteran leaders' iron grip on power and paving the way for much-needed reforms. Newly appointed information minister Nabil Amr said the meeting of the cabinet, which has pledged to curb Palestinian violence and renew peace talks, was dominated by the huge pre-dawn raid in which eight Palestinians were killed. "We see this as a bloody message from Israel to the whole world that the Israeli side is looking to destroy all that we set out in our statement," delivered by Abbas at Tuesday's Parliamentary session and vowing to end violence, incitement and corruption, Amr said.
The cabinet called on the quartet, made up of the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia, and which submitted its peace plan to both sides yesterday, "to put pressure on Israel to stop this aggression."

Amr said the raid "is evidence the Israeli side is not serious about the roadmap, and we'll consult with the quartet and we will declare we are ready to fulfil the roadmap without changes," which Israeli is demanding.
Bureau Report