Arafat to meet Fatah for cabinet talks

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will meet heads of his Fatah faction to finalise details of his new cabinet later today.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will meet heads of his Fatah faction to finalise details of his new cabinet later today.

"President Arafat is expected to present the new formation of his government after consultations with all the parties involved," Fatah central committee member Mr Sakher Habash said.

He said the line-up could be made public before Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon returns from talks in Washington at the end of the week.

Mr Arafat has been locked in marathon talks with political groups all week.

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Fatah constitutes the main faction within the Palestinian parliament, which on September 11th forced the cabinet to step down, accusing Mr Arafat of having failed to go far enough in reforming his heavily criticised government.

AFP