June 3, 2002	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 21,1423

GAZA, June 2: A Palestinian Authority official called on Sunday upon all different Palestinian political groups to join the government that would be reshuffled soon based on the political program of the PA.

PA information minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said that joining the PA government “is not a matter of how many seats or portfolio each group is going to get. It is a commitment to a unified national program to the PA program.”

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat announced that he is intending to reshuffle the cabinet, carry out serious reforms into the PA and prepare for municipal and parliamentarian elections by the end of this year.

“We had presented offers to all the different political groups to join the government. This offer is political, but I can’t say that there are positive responses from those groups,” said Abed Rabbo.

Abdallah Al Shami, a senior Islamic Jihad organization leader announced that his movement rejected the PA offer to join the new reshuffled cabinet, adding that “as long as the occupation continues, his groups would refuse to join.”

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) had also rejected the offer made by the PA few days ago to join the new PA cabinet.

Media reports had revealed that some of the ministers are going to be changed, and other sources mentioned the names of five new ministers who are going to be appointed in the new cabinet.

“All what the media reports that spoke about the new forms of the cabinet are just inaccurate expectations, because the issue of nominations are still in the hands of President Arafat,” said Abed Rabbo.

Talks between the PA and representatives from Islamic Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad Organization were held in the last few days during which reforms, the cabinet and elections were discussed.

Abed Rabbo said that the new reshuffled cabinet will not be more than 20 ministers, adding that there are going to be also changes in the security apparatuses of the PA.

“All such reshuffles, changes and reforms would be inactive as long as Israel continues its incursions, occupation to the Palestinian-controlled territories and the tightened security measures,” said Abed Rabbo.

INTERVIEW: Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat said upcoming reforms of his administration will be a “radical” move in an interview published on Sunday in the Greek daily Vradyni, said a report filed from Athens.

“It will be radical. All the ministries will be changed,” Arafat said in the interview conducted on May 25, four days after he signed the de facto constitution which had been adopted by parliament five years before.

He said the reshuffle would take place within a maximum of 30 days.

In mid-May Arafat pledged a number of sweeping reforms, including new parliamentary and local elections, reforms of his security forces, and the creation of an independent judiciary.

During the interview, Arafat said that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had “not only burned the olive branch, but also killed the dove of peace.”

The Palestinians leader also criticized the “dismemberment” of Palestinian territories into “nine pieces — eight cities and Jerusalem.”— dpa/AFP