RAMALLAH, West Bank, 30 April 2003 — The Palestinian Parliament yesterday overwhelmingly approved a new Cabinet led by reformist Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in a crucial step toward launching a new US-backed Middle East peace plan.
Applause swept the special Palestinian legislative session in the West Bank city of Ramallah as deputies voted 51-18 with three abstentions to endorse Abbas’ Cabinet list.
Lawmakers kissed and congratulated Abbas, the first Palestinian prime minister, and he pronounced himself “very happy with this Palestinian democracy” despite militant threats to defy his agenda of negotiated peace with Israel.
“I am happy with those who voted in favor and those who voted against. I hope my Cabinet and I will not disappoint our people,” said Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen.
The new Cabinet will be sworn in this morning.
In Washington, the White House quickly welcomed the vote and said President George W. Bush would soon unveil an international road map to peace envisaging a Palestinian state alongside Israel by 2005 after confidence-building steps by both sides.
“The president looks forward to working with the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian people, the Israeli government, the Israeli people, to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
The milestone confidence vote followed a pledge by Abbas, a moderate and ex-peace negotiator, to rein in militants including a radical offshoot of President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction.
“There is no room for weapons except in the hands of the government,” Abbas told the Palestinian Legislative Council session a few hours before the vote. He coupled his comments with a rejection of “terrorism, whatever the source”.
With a somber-looking Arafat at his side, Abbas pledged to end “armed chaos” in Palestinian areas, but did not say how.
The radical Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups swiftly vowed not to disarm until Israeli occupation ended. “Of course we will not (disarm),” said Abdel-Aziz Al-Rantissi, a top Hamas official. “We are resisting an occupation that still exists. The day we get rid of the occupation we can talk about arms.”
Mohammad Al-Hindi, a senior Islamic Jihad leader, told Reuters: “Islamic Jihad is a resistance movement and it will not drop its weapons before the occupation ends.”
A Palestinian Authority crackdown on groups behind attacks on Israelis in a 31-month-old uprising for statehood is a key part of the road map which Washington said it would release once Abbas’ Cabinet was confirmed.
Israel has said there could be no move toward an independent Palestinian state unless Abbas demonstrated real action was being taken against militants. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Abbas’ pledge to curb militants was a “good start”.
“Abu Mazen and his government will be judged by their actions,” Shalom said in a statement. “If Abu Mazen implements a policy of fighting terrorism on the ground, he will find in Israel a true partner for peace.”
For Washington, Abbas has emerged as the best candidate to lead Palestinians into peacemaking that might ease anti-American anger that the US-led war in Iraq stirred in the Arab world.
But Arafat has retained significant authority over security and diplomatic matters in a five-week power struggle with Abbas.
