Abbas Accepts Post of First Palestinian PM

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, March 20, 2003

Abbas Accepts Post of First Palestinian PM

The Palestine Liberation Organization's NO. 2 Mahmoud Abbas has accepted the offer of premiership by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Palestinian officials confirmed Wednesday.

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The Palestine Liberation Organization's NO. 2 Mahmoud Abbas has accepted the offer of premiership by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Palestinian officials confirmed Wednesday.

Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, "has officially accepted" Arafat's offer to the post, Nabil Abu Rudainah, a top aide to Arafat, said in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Palestinian sources said that Abu Mazen told Arafat that he accepted the post during a meeting between them at Ramallah.

The 66-year-old Abu Mazen, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the PLO, was chosen by Arafat as well as the PLO and the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) to be the new prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

"Abu Mazen's acceptance of the new post was a positive response to President Arafat's decree," said Abu Rudeineh, who attended the meeting.

He said that both Arafat and Abu Mazen agreed on the general outlines of the PNA cabinet that Abu Mazen is to form after he holds talks with all the political groups and figures as well as the PLC and the PLO's Central Council members.

Earlier Wednesday, Arafat handed an official presidential decreeto Abu Mazen nominating him as the new PNA prime minister and askedto form a new cabinet, officials said.

Abu Rudeineh said that the decree came after Arafat approved a new version of the Basic Law that had been approved on Tuesday by the PLC.

Arafat approved the version after he changed his request that the Palestinian PM should first present the name list of the cabinet to him before it is approved by the PLC.

The new version of the basic law gives wide administrative and executive authorizations to the prime minister.

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