Nazir Majally, Asharq Al-Awsat

RAMALLAH, 13 November 2003 — Palestinian lawmakers approved Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei’s new government yesterday, setting the stage for a renewed push to implement the stalled, US-backed road map peace plan.

The vote came after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat — who appears to have survived the Israeli-American effort to sideline him — joined Qorei in offering an olive branch to Israel and calling for an end to three years of violence with Israel that has claimed thousands of lives.

“The time has come between us and you Israelis ... to get out of this cycle of destructive war,” Arafat said, referring to the violence that broke out in September 2000 and buried an ambitious effort to end a century of Arab-Israeli enmity.

Israeli officials said they would give the new premier a chance to restore calm, and militant groups said they will consider a cease-fire. Israeli and Palestinian officials said they expected a meeting to take place soon between Qorei and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The approval of the new Cabinet, which was sworn in yesterday evening, ended a two-month Palestinian political stalemate that stymied efforts to implement the road map plan which the sides accepted six months ago.

Qorei broke the standoff Sunday by giving in to Arafat on the crucial question of who controls Palestinian security and police, leaving the veteran leader effectively in charge of most of the forces.

Parliament approved the Cabinet by a vote of 48-13 with five abstentions, despite criticism within the legislature of the government’s makeup.

Some Palestinian lawmakers had complained that the Cabinet was too similar to previous governments that have been tainted by corruption.

“If the new Palestinian government is serious about pursuing peace and takes action to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism, they will find Israel to be a real partner,” said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.

Raanan Gissin, Sharon’s spokesman, urged Qorei to bring a halt to militant attacks on Israelis and consolidate the security forces under one authority.

“We’re prepared to give Ahmed Qorei a grace period and judge him by the results,” Gissin said.