Palestinian President Yasser Arafat delayed the ratification of his long-awaited new cabinet today after Israel prevented some Palestinian lawmakers from attending the session.
Mr Arafat, under pressure at home and abroad to make sweeping reforms, had planned to use today's meeting of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in the West Bank city of Ramallah to announce and win parliamentary approval for his new cabinet.
But the session was put off after lawmakers and a cabinet minister were stopped at a Gaza Strip checkpoint.
"There is no (PLC) meeting today because Israel has prevented 13 Gaza deputies from attending the session in Ramallah," a senior Palestinian official said.
"We hold Israel responsible for trying to sabotage our reform effort."
Mr Ibrahim Abu al-Naja, deputy speaker of the PLC, told reporters in Gaza that Israel had backtracked on a promise to let all 85 lawmakers reach Ramallah.
An Israeli army spokesman said the travel prohibition on the 13 was imposed for security reasons but did not elaborate.
Elsewhere, a 16-year-old Palestinian boywas shot dead by machine-gun fire from an Israeli tank today asyouths stoned an army column during curfew in the northern West Banktown of Tulkarem, Palestinian security officials said.
However, an Israeli army spokeswoman said troops had killed a"terrorist" trying to plant an explosive device aimed at killingIsraeli soldiers occupying the autonomous Palestinian town on theboundary with Israel.
Ahmed Ombus (16) was killed at the entrance to the Tulkaremrefugee camp as the youths pelted stones at the tank and army jeepsenforcing the curfew in the town on the boundary with Israel,Palestinian officials said.