Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat pared down his cabinet today in a move that could pave the way for reforms of the Palestinian Authority, as Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon arrived in Washington for White House talks.
The Palestinian president, under intense US pressure to implement sweeping reforms, reduced his cabinet to 21 ministers from 31, in what Palestinian Information Minister Mr Yasser Abed Rabbo said was an interim measure until parliamentary elections.
The Palestinian Authority shakeup included the appointment of a new Interior Minister, General Abdel-Razzaq al-Yahya, to head a streamlined security force made up of three divisions instead of nine main security agencies.
"All Palestinian security services will be under the supervision of the ministry of interior in order to prevent any overlap," Mr Abed Rabbo said at a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Israel had demanded the reshuffle as part of a reform programme to end Palestinian suicide bombings. It reacted coolly to the news of the changes.
"If we see fundamental change in the behaviour of the Palestinian security forces in which they intercept the attacks against Israel and not collaborate with them, we'll know that something big has occurred," Mr Dore Gold, an adviser to Mr Sharon said.
The reshuffle coincided with Mr Sharon's arrival in Washington, where he was expected to tell President George W. Bush tomorrow that Palestinian attacks must end before peacemaking can resume.
"Israel must defeat terrorism; it cannot negotiate under fire. Israel has made painful concessions for peace before and will demonstrate diplomatic flexibility to make peace again," Mr Sharon wrote in the New York Timestoday.
The new Palestinian cabinet, including five new ministers and several merged portfolios, will meet tomorrow.