The Palestinian Authority Government of October 2003 was an eight-member Palestinian Authority (PA) emergency government that was formed on 6 October and existed until 12 November 2003.[1] It was headed by newly appointed Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and established by presidential decree.
On 12 November 2003, the Cabinet was replaced by a 24-member government, also headed by Qurei.
Establishment
On 6 September 2003, Mahmoud Abbas resigned as Prime Minister and Ahmed Qurei was asked to become PM of an emergency government.[2] Following a suicide bombing in Haifa on 4 October, Israel threatened to "remove" Arafat and urged him to act within 48 hours.[3] The next day, Arafat created a new government by decree, before Qurei had accomplished his task to form a government.[4][5] Initially, Qurei had planned to present a larger government to parliament for approval later in the week.[6]
The emergency government was to serve for a month, with a possible one-month extension, unless Qurei could present a full-sized Cabinet to Parliament within a month.[6] The Fatah Central Committee agreed to the emergency Cabinet, but the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council refused to hold a vote of confidence before the formation of the full Cabinet.[7]
In his decree, Arafat had named Nasser Yousef to become the Interior Minister of a nine-member cabinet.[8] However, Yousef was not sworn in. Palestinian sources said Yousef had refused to join the government because he was unhappy Arafat had appointed an emergency Cabinet instead of going through the normal channels. Other sources said he would be sworn in soon.[6] On 12 November 2003, however, Hakam Balawi was appointed Interior Minister in the next government. After Arafat's death, Nasser Yousef became at last Minister of Interior and National Security in the Palestinian Authority Government of February 2005.
^Arafat swears in Palestinian cabinetArchived 6 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Guardian, 7 October 2003. "In response, Israeli officials threatened to hasten action to "remove" Mr Arafat and warned that a decision might depend on Palestinian action in the ensuing 48 hours."
^Arafat Swears In New Palestinian CabinetArchived 5 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Greg Myre, The New York Times, 8 October 2003. "Mr. Qurei was nominated a month ago, but has been unable to assemble a full cabinet, with more than 20 ministers, to present to parliament. The emergency regulations give him a month before he has to seek a vote of confidence from the legislature."
^Arafat Swears in Emergency CabinetArchived 17 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Megan K. Stack, Los Angeles Times, 8 October 2003. "But Arafat caught even the ministers off guard by declaring a state of emergency throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the latest bombing. Korei and his stripped-down Cabinet of eight ministers were hastily summoned."
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