Ramallah, Sept 12: The Palestinian Prime Minister-designate, Ahmed Qureia, said he will begin talks this weekend on forming a full-sized government, after his proposal to take charge immediately with an emergency Cabinet of just six ministers was blocked by the ruling Fatah Party. The cumbersome task of forming a larger Cabinet of about 20 ministers will require days, if not weeks, and prolong a situation of uncertainty in the Palestinian leadership at a time of renewed Israeli threats to take action against veteran leader Yasser Arafat. Last evening, Israel's security Cabinet decided to ``remove'' Arafat, an intentionally vague word that could mean either expulsion or assassination, but Israel put off immediate action. The decision came in response to Hamas suicide bombings that killed 15 Israelis this week. Arafat initially backed Qureia's proposal of forming a crisis Cabinet as a way of quickly filling a power vacuum left by the resignation of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas last weekend.

US officials had proposed an emergency Cabinet to Qureia, saying Washington would be in a better position to block major Israeli reprisals for the most recent Hamas suicide bombings if a new Palestinian Prime Minister was in place, Palestinian sources said. Bureau Report