Abbas, Arafat reach deal; Israeli-Palestinian violence rages

JERUSALEM -- Many predicted that deposing Saddam Hussein would change the Israeli-Palestinian dynamic.

President Bush promised to present a "road map" toward peace as soon as a new Palestinian Authority cabinet was sworn in that would sideline Yasser Arafat.

The Palestinian Authority President, however, seems to be in no rush to make this happen.

On the edge of the deadline for presenting the Cabinet on Tuesday, Arafat finally agreed to prime minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas' Cabinet that would institute good government and crack down on terrorism against Israel. The deal was brokered at the last minute with a great deal of resistance from Arafat.

According to the agreement, which was brokered by Egyptian intelligence head Omar Suleiman and under heavy international pressure, Abu Mazen will become Interior Minister and Mohammed Dahlan will assume responsibility over the Palestinian security services. Arafat, who opposed the appointment of Dahlan, was assured by Suleiman that he would retain his position as leader of the Palestinian people.

Abbas threatened to resign over Arafat's opposition to key Cabinet appointments. Arafat reportedly was considering possible replacements for Abbas, even though European officials told Arafat that no one else would be acceptable.

Although a deal was reached, the crisis leading up to it suggested more instability on the road to reform.

There also was renewed fighting between Israelis and Palestinians on the ground.

On Sunday, five Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed during an Israeli army operation in the southern Gaza Strip.

Three other Israeli soldiers and some 40 Palestinians were wounded Sunday in clashes that erupted during the operation, which targeted a terrorist stronghold in the city of Rafah.

The Israeli soldier killed in the raid, Sgt. Lior Ziv, 19, from Holon, was a photographer in the Israeli army spokesman's unit who was documenting the operation.

Also on Sunday, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank who had thrown a Molotov cocktail at passing Israeli cars.

A day earlier, Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian journalist working for the Associated Press.

Nazeh Darawzeh, who worked for Associated Press Television News, was killed while filming a clash between the Israeli army and Palestinians in Nablus. Israel said its soldiers, who had been conducting a raid in Nablus, reacted after being surrounded by a group of armed Palestinians throwing stones and firing weapons.

Israel said the Rafah raid had turned up two tunnels used for smuggling weapons from Egypt. Security forces have demolished 17 tunnels in the area since the beginning of the year, Israeli officials said.

Shortly after the troops and tanks pulled out of the area, Palestinians fired two Kassam rockets at the Negev town of Sderot.

One of the rockets hit a four-story building, but the only reported injury was a woman who suffered from smoke inhalation, the Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported.

Hamas later claimed responsibility for the rocket attack, stating it was in response to the Israeli operation in Rafah.

To prevent such violence from getting out of hand, the partners in the diplomatic "Quartet" -- the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia -- have been pushing their "road map" plan. The document calls for a three-stage approach leading to a Palestinian state and a final peace deal, possibly within three years.

The United States reportedly has urged Abbas to stand up to Arafat's pressure on the Cabinet appointments, Israel Radio reported.

In a landmark policy speech last June, President Bush made appointing a new Palestinian leader a cornerstone of U.S. efforts to jump-start Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

The key stumbling block was Arafat's objection to giving responsibility for Palestinian security services to Mohammed Dahlan, the former Gaza Strip security chief.

Dahlan's sin, in Arafat's eyes, was that he established an effective security service that was too independent of Arafat's wishes.

Arafat is said to have preferred that the position be held by one of his loyalists, such as Hani Hassan, who was in charge of interior affairs in the previous Cabinet.

Abbas reportedly rejected a compromise proposal that called for a Cabinet of 24 members, 14 of them holdovers from Arafat's last government. The list did not include Dahlan, Israel Radio reported.