The Palestinian parliament has adjourned a key debate on appointing a new premier after Arafat loyalists failed to press through changes to the bill demanded by the Palestinian leader.
Parliamentary speaker Mr Ahmed Qorei said the debate would resume tomorrow after Arafat supporters failed to rally enough votes in favour of a change allowing the Palestinian leader to have the final say on the hiring and firing of cabinet ministers.
Mr Arafat, who had not been scheduled to attend the meeting, was present.
He said under the new draft, the leader and prime minister should have their "own powers, but the main thing is that both will be complementary to each other." The proposed changes will help Palestinians make progress towards an independent state, he said.
Officials said Mr Arafat wants the changes to include clauses stipulating that he be referred to as the head of the executive body and the government, have the final say on hiring and firing ministers and have the chance to review a new cabinet before it is put to parliament.
The appointment of the new premier is seen as a key change in reforming the Palestinian administration, set up under the 1993 Oslo peace accords, but in a state of collapse after 29-months of bitter Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Mahmud Abbas, the second-in-command of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), has been nominated as premier but has not said whether the powers attached to the post will be enough to lure him into accepting the job, which he wants to use to launch widespread reforms.
AFP