Ramallah, Nov 03: Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and Yasser Arafat made no apparent progress today toward resolving their dispute over the choice of security chief, the main hurdle to forming a new government. Qureia said after a two-hour meeting with the veteran Palestinian leader that the issue is “still under study.'' Qureia's formal deadline for forming a cabinet is midnight Tuesday, though an Arafat aide later said he could ask for more time.
Renewed political wrangling over the composition of the cabinet would deepen the deadlock over US-backed “road map'' peace plan and hold up Qureia's planned meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and leaders of Hamas.
In the west bank, a 16-year-old Palestinian blew himself up near Israeli soldiers searching for him in the village of Azzoun, near Israel. The suicide bomber, Sabih Abu Saud from the city of Nablus, killed himself and lightly injured a soldier.
He was sent by the Al Aqsa martyrs' brigade, an armed group with ties to Arafat's ruling Fatah movement. The youngster's father, Kamal, said that “he was just a little boy and those who sent him should have left him alone.''
In the West Bank town of Ramallah, Qureia met with Arafat and several other members of the National Security Council as part of consultations on a new cabinet.
Qureia and Arafat remain at odds over the choice of Interior Minister, who will play a key role in any possible action against armed groups.
Bureau Report