Palestinian lawmakers oppose prime minister's Cabinet list

Several legislators said they wanted to push Qorei out and would not support any Cabinet he proposes. During years as parliament speaker, Qorei made many enemies among legislators who perceived him as doing the bidding of the late Yasser Arafat, at the expense of the legislature.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who had largely remained on the sidelines during the political turmoil of the past few days, convened legislators from his ruling Fatah party on Wednesday, ahead of the vote, and urged them to support Qorei's Cabinet.

Abbas has promised to carry out government reform, and a Cabinet of professional appointees would make it easier for him to do the job than one stacked with politicians.

Late Tuesday, more than two dozen legislators, including many from Fatah, met in a Ramallah hotel and decided not to back the new list, participants said. Fatah controls more than half the seats in the 85-member parliament, and Qorei needs unanimous support from the party's legislators.

"The general feeling was that this Cabinet will fall," said Cabinet minister and Fatah legislator Jamal Shobaki, who attended the meeting. "Many said they were not going to vote in favor of the Cabinet."

Nabil Amr, another participant from Fatah, also said Qorei, widely known as Abu Ala, had little chance of getting his Cabinet approved. "Abu Ala will face a very hard situation today," Amr said.

Earlier this week, Qorei had presented a Cabinet to Parliament that included only four new faces, prompting an angry outcry from legislators. After wall-to-wall criticism, he returned with a promise to overhaul his team and appoint many professionals.

Israel and the United States have long demanded reforms to the corruption-plagued Palestinian Authority, and success in the task is one of the key tests for Abbas.

In addition to reforming the government, the United States and Israel want Abbas to unify his security services into a force that will be able to conduct an effective campaign against violence and militant groups.

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