MIDDLE EAST Legislators yesterday cleared the path for Mr Mahmoud Abbas, Mr Yasser Arafat's longtime deputy, to become the first prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.
But it was not clear what powers he will have and, crucially, whether he will have the authority to confront Hamas and the other extremist groups responsible for suicide bombings - a crackdown that the Israeli government demands as a precondition for any new peace effort.
Mr Arafat, president of the PA, tabled the successful 64-3 vote on the creation of the prime ministership, and nominated Mr Abbas for the post, at a meeting in Ramallah of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
But the appointment had been effectively imposed on the Palestinian president both by the international community and by legislators from the Fatah faction of the PLO that the two men founded more than 40 years ago.
Initially, Mr Arafat had rejected the notion of delegating authority to a prime minister at all; later, he sought to find a less credible appointee.
If the PA president has been reluctant to create the position, Mr Abbas has been reluctant to accept it; concerned by the prospect of confronting Mr Arafat, whom he has partnered for so long.
But the paths of the two men have manifestly diverged since the "second Intifada" erupted in autumn of 2000. Mr Abbas has played no role in inciting armed attacks on Israelis.
Indeed, in recent months, he has campaigned publicly for a halt to attacks on Israeli civilians inside sovereign Israel, although he has not taken a stance against attacks on soldiers and Jewish settlers. Significantly, Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, has maintained contacts with him, while repeatedly castigating Mr Arafat as a terrorist.
Mr Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, will be formally appointed to the position only when he and Mr Arafat complete their negotiations on his precise role, an issue also being debated by the Legislative Council.
Draft legislation, and reports of their contacts thus far, indicate that Mr Arafat will have the right to dismiss his prime minister, and that he seeks to maintain personal supervision over two vital areas, peace negotiations with Israel and security.
However, the US-led international pressure for his appointment, the backing of many Fatah legislators and Mr Abbas's own political heavyweight status, may yet create a dynamic of their own. A key test may be whether Mr Jibril Rajoub and Mr Mohammad Dahlan, the former heads of PA security in the West Bank and Gaza who have clashed with Mr Arafat over his disinclination to confront the extremists, are now reappointed to positions of power.
In a landmark Middle East speech last June, President George Bush, who has refused to meet Mr Arafat, urged the Palestinians to elect a new leadership that was not "compromised" by terrorism.
This demand for dramatic political and other reforms has since been reinforced by the "Quartet" of Middle East peacebrokers, the US, United Nations, European Union and Russia. Mr Abbas, according to all these parties, fulfils the demand for fresh leadership, provided he is given the necessary authority.
The Fatah legislators who helped force Mr Arafat's hand are urging Mr Sharon to now seize the opportunity and prove his professed desire to return to the peace table; by halting military operations in the West Bank and, especially of late, the Gaza Strip; withdrawing troops to the positions they held prior to this round of conflict; and lifting restrictions on Palestinian movement.
This, they say, can help create a climate in which his people will see Mr Abbas as bringing relief, thus creating a wider public will for a new peace effort.
Similar pleas to Mr Sharon were issued by the moderate Israeli opposition yesterday. Mr Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former Labour Party foreign minister, called on Mr Sharon to "ease conditions" for Palestinians and thus boost Mr Abbas's standing.
Mr Silvan Shalom, the novice foreign minister in Mr Sharon's new government, gave a cautious welcome to Mr Abbas, saying that the key question was whether he would be able to formulate his own policy, and specifically to "halt terror".