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Palestinian P.M. Nominee
EFL RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Nominated to take over as Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia said Monday that Israel must comply with its obligations under the ``road mapââ peace plan - or he will face the same impossible situation that felled Mahmoud Abbas. Rats -- he noticed! The parliament speaker, who won By George I think heâs got it! Higgins, the bubbly! ``I donât want failure,ââ said Qureia (pronounced Sorry, Fred, your previous lesson on "cause and effect" didnât take. Theyâre going to need a refresher course. Early Tuesday, Israeli soldiers surrounded an eight-story building in Hebron, evacuating residents, engaging armed Palestinians in a gunfight and firing tank shells at the apartment complex, witnesses said. The soldiers surrounded the building, where the Kawasme family lives, calling on loudspeakers for occupants to leave, Palestinian witnesses said. Four suicide bombers in the past three years of fighting have been members of the Kawasme family. Israel has a policy of demolishing the homes of suicide bombers in the hopes of deterring further attacks. Speak of the devil ... After meeting with Qureia - known as Abu Ala - Arafat told leaders of his Fatah Party and other factions that Qureia had accepted the nomination in principle, said an official who was present at the meeting. ``Arafat told us that Abu Ala has accepted the job in principle, but he is working to get guarantees from the various parties that his mission will succeed,ââ said Qeis Abdelkarim, a member of a PLO faction. But Qureia said he has not given his final answer. ``Iâm still studying the issue,ââ he told The Associated Press. If Qureia formally accepts, he must be confirmed by Israel has ignored clauses that require it to freeze construction in Jewish settlements and dismantle settlement outposts established since 2001. It also remains in control of most West Bank towns. Israeli leaders demanded Abbas dismantle militant groups as required by the plan. Abbas refused to use force to do so. The militant groups declared a temporary end to attacks on Israelis in June. But some attacks continued, as did Israeli arrests of militants. After a suicide bombing that killed 22 people in Jerusalem last month and was claimed by the militant group Hamas, the truce fell apart. Did I just read that right, did an AP reporter actually blame Hamas for the collapse of the truce? Israel is now in the midst of a campaign against Hamas militants, killing 12 in recent weeks and slightly injuring the groupâs revered founder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin. ``I want to see a real cease-fire from both sides with enough commitment to stop all kinds of killing of the Palestinians or killing of the Israelis,ââ Qureia told reporters on Monday. "Although that last part is optional to me!" ``I want to see that the Israelis will change the way of dealing with Yasser Arafat, the elected president, because I cannot go without his support,ââ he said. "Please donât kill me!" ``We also need the support of the Israelis, the support of the Americans, and the support of President Arafat,ââ he said. So far youâre batting .000, al-Q! Posted by: Steve White 2003-09-09 |
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