RAMALLAH, Oct 29: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Tuesday unveiled his new cabinet to parliament, drawing instant criticism from reformist deputies for promoting few new faces and favouring stalwarts of his Fatah faction, such as proposed interior minister Hani al-Hassan.

Former Arab League spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi said she would not support the new cabinet because there were “a lot of questions” that Arafat did not answer in his opening speech.

Ziad Abu Amr, an independent Gaza deputy, said he did not believe it would make the necessary changes demanded by both Palestinians and the international community.

“I don’t believe this cabinet will rescue the Palestinians from the crisis. I feel that there is a mistake in the system and there is no guarantee that this cabinet will not make the same mistakes as before.”

Abu Amr said he had hoped that there would be no Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive members in the new cabinet because “we want the best leaders for the Palestinian people”.

Arafat was visibly angered by his remarks.

“I will not allow you to speak like that about members of the executive committee,” he retorted angrily. “If there are any mistakes made by the committee members, you have to show me the evidence.”

The parliament, dominated by Fatah, blocked a previous reshuffle last month, saying Arafat had done too little in his reform programme.—AFP