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CNN Sunday Morning
Palestinian Prime Minister Resigns
Aired October 12, 2003 - 09:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: We are now going to check in overseas in Ramallah. We are now joined by Fionnuala Sweeney with the very latest information on the apparent resignation of the Palestinian prime minister -- Fionnuala.
Well, we apologize. Thus goes live TV. Well, certainly, this has been, if not reported, but certainly something, Andrea, that has been talked about for some time. Without question, Yasser Arafat is having a difficult time getting some kind of leadership in there that will appease both Israel and the U.S. officials as well.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, some would say that Yasser Arafat is at the root of that problem, Sean, because he does not want to cede authority of the security forces, which are really the key, many believe, to bringing the suicide attacks under control.
CALLEBS: And a reason that Mahmoud Abbas resigned.
KOPPEL: Exactly. Well, Mahmoud Abbas, the first Palestinian prime minister, one of the old guards close to Arafat. So was Ahmed Qorei close to Yasser Arafat. The circle is growing increasingly smaller.
I know when Ahmed Qorei, who was the former speaker of the Palestinian legislature, first came forward as the potential new interim Palestinian prime minister, folks were saying, gee, if he doesn't take the job, there are not a lot of other options out there. But I know we do have more on that from Ramallah, Sean. And I think...
CALLEBS: Fionnuala Sweeney is now available to chat with us and bring us up to date. Fionnuala, what can you tell us about the situation there?
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sean, it hasn't been officially confirmed, but what we are hearing is that Ahmed Qorei this morning has asked to be relieved of his duties. Now, let me just give you a quick outline of what's been happening here over the last number of weeks.
He has been trying to form a cabinet, initially a broad 24-member cabinet, but attempts to do that failed. And last Sunday, a week ago, Yasser Arafat, under emergency legislation in the Palestinian constitution, decided to enact a smaller security cabinet of just eight people. That caused huge disquiet among members of that cabinet and Palestinian legislators alike, many of whom wanted the backing of the legislative council before they would proceed in government.
Yasser Arafat didn't want to see a vote of confidence in the legislative (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And what we saw here last Thursday was a postponement of that meeting. So negotiations continued over the last couple of days to try and form a cabinet. And the latest we have heard this morning is that, following a meeting of the Fatah Central Committee -- now that's Yasser Arafat's political party -- it was decided that the security cabinet enacted last Sunday would remain in place for another three weeks. It has one month to run under emergency legislation. Ahmed Qorei apparently remaining as prime minister for that duration, but reportedly saying that he doesn't want to continue as prime minister after that.
Also, Sean, I should say, a big sticking point between Ahmed Qorei and Yasser Arafat, the role of the interior minister. A man called Nasir Yousef (ph)) had been appointed interior minister. That's a very crucial role with responsibility for security in the West Bank and Gaza. Nasir Yousef (ph) didn't show up at the swearing in ceremony on Tuesday because, he, too, wanted the backing of the legislature council.
This made Yasser Arafat a very unhappy man. He insisted that Nasir Yousef (ph) had to go. Ahmed Qorei adamantly saying that he had to stay. And it seems that Yasser Arafat has won that round. Nasir Yousef (ph) will not now be the interior minister. Security for the next three weeks remaining in the hands of a national security council controlled by Yasser Arafat.
CALLEBS: Fionnuala Sweeney, thanks very much. The convoluted picture in Ramallah. That area of the Middle East becomes just a bit more cloudy this morning with the apparent resignation of the Palestinian prime minister.
KOPPEL: The interim Palestinian prime minister. I guess he doesn't want to seek the job.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 12, 2003 - 09:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: We are now going to check in overseas in Ramallah. We are now joined by Fionnuala Sweeney with the very latest information on the apparent resignation of the Palestinian prime minister -- Fionnuala.
Well, we apologize. Thus goes live TV. Well, certainly, this has been, if not reported, but certainly something, Andrea, that has been talked about for some time. Without question, Yasser Arafat is having a difficult time getting some kind of leadership in there that will appease both Israel and the U.S. officials as well.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, some would say that Yasser Arafat is at the root of that problem, Sean, because he does not want to cede authority of the security forces, which are really the key, many believe, to bringing the suicide attacks under control.
CALLEBS: And a reason that Mahmoud Abbas resigned.
KOPPEL: Exactly. Well, Mahmoud Abbas, the first Palestinian prime minister, one of the old guards close to Arafat. So was Ahmed Qorei close to Yasser Arafat. The circle is growing increasingly smaller.
I know when Ahmed Qorei, who was the former speaker of the Palestinian legislature, first came forward as the potential new interim Palestinian prime minister, folks were saying, gee, if he doesn't take the job, there are not a lot of other options out there. But I know we do have more on that from Ramallah, Sean. And I think...
CALLEBS: Fionnuala Sweeney is now available to chat with us and bring us up to date. Fionnuala, what can you tell us about the situation there?
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sean, it hasn't been officially confirmed, but what we are hearing is that Ahmed Qorei this morning has asked to be relieved of his duties. Now, let me just give you a quick outline of what's been happening here over the last number of weeks.
He has been trying to form a cabinet, initially a broad 24-member cabinet, but attempts to do that failed. And last Sunday, a week ago, Yasser Arafat, under emergency legislation in the Palestinian constitution, decided to enact a smaller security cabinet of just eight people. That caused huge disquiet among members of that cabinet and Palestinian legislators alike, many of whom wanted the backing of the legislative council before they would proceed in government.
Yasser Arafat didn't want to see a vote of confidence in the legislative (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And what we saw here last Thursday was a postponement of that meeting. So negotiations continued over the last couple of days to try and form a cabinet. And the latest we have heard this morning is that, following a meeting of the Fatah Central Committee -- now that's Yasser Arafat's political party -- it was decided that the security cabinet enacted last Sunday would remain in place for another three weeks. It has one month to run under emergency legislation. Ahmed Qorei apparently remaining as prime minister for that duration, but reportedly saying that he doesn't want to continue as prime minister after that.
Also, Sean, I should say, a big sticking point between Ahmed Qorei and Yasser Arafat, the role of the interior minister. A man called Nasir Yousef (ph)) had been appointed interior minister. That's a very crucial role with responsibility for security in the West Bank and Gaza. Nasir Yousef (ph) didn't show up at the swearing in ceremony on Tuesday because, he, too, wanted the backing of the legislature council.
This made Yasser Arafat a very unhappy man. He insisted that Nasir Yousef (ph) had to go. Ahmed Qorei adamantly saying that he had to stay. And it seems that Yasser Arafat has won that round. Nasir Yousef (ph) will not now be the interior minister. Security for the next three weeks remaining in the hands of a national security council controlled by Yasser Arafat.
CALLEBS: Fionnuala Sweeney, thanks very much. The convoluted picture in Ramallah. That area of the Middle East becomes just a bit more cloudy this morning with the apparent resignation of the Palestinian prime minister.
KOPPEL: The interim Palestinian prime minister. I guess he doesn't want to seek the job.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
