HOPE FOR A PALESTINIAN STATE: Abbas, Arafat Agree on Cabinet

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, reacting to the news of agreement on a new Palestinian cabinet, said that his government will do everything in its power to reach a diplomatic settlement with the Palestinians that will lead to a peace deal, Israel Radio reported. [/color]

"There have been many stories and headlines as of late about pressure exerted on Israel that never was, demands made of Israel that never were and depictions of how much Israel was dependent upon elections among the Palestinians," Sharon said Wednesday during Mimouna festivities in Sderot.

"I want to stress that Israel wants peace, the citizens of Israel want peace, Jews want peace. The government, under my leadership, will make every effort to reach a diplomatic settlement that, with God's help, will lead to peace. Of course it is very important that on the other side is someone who desires an end to terror and the achievement of peace." [/b]

Opposition leader Amram Mitzna (Labor) said Wednesday that the formation of a new Palestinian cabinet will obligate Israel and the Palestinians to enter negotiations, which he regarded as "encouraging." Mitzna said that the new Palestinian government signals that there is a partner with whom to conduct dialogue.

"This will not make negotiations with the Palestinians easy or simple, but it will make negotiations possible," Mitzna said while attending Mimuna celebrations in Mevasseret Zion.

Interior Minister Avraham Poraz called the creation of the new PA cabinet a golden opportunity for Israel to renew its negotiations with the Palestinians, Army Radio reported.

MK Zvi Hendel (National Union) said the PA continues to be a well-oiled murder organization and that the nomination of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Mohammed Dahlan, the powerful former Gaza security chief, to senior government positions is proof of this.

U.S. welcomes agreement on Palestinian cabinet

The United States welcomed on Wednesday an agreement on a Palestinian Cabinet and said it looked forward working with Israel and the Palestinian prime minister-designate on resuming work on Middle East peace.

The U.S. called for quick confirmation of Palestinian cabinet and vowed to put its "shoulder to the wheel" to implement a peace plan.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and Abu Mazen, his prime minister-designate, agreed on the makeup of a reform Cabinet and defused a power struggle delaying a new Middle East peace plan, Palestinian officials said.

A senior Arafat aide said that under the deal, Abu Mazen would also serve as interior minister, while Dahlan would be in charge of security affairs.

Arafat had rejected any role for Dahlan, whom he fired last year, but apparently yielded to pressure from the peacemaking "Quartet" led by the United States, which deemed Dahlan a key to curbing militants opposed to negotiating peace with Israel.

"The next step would be the submission of the cabinet to the Palestinian legislature and (they) would need to quickly approve it," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "We see no need for that to take any length of time."

"Once it (the road map) is formally released to the parties we welcome their contributions to it," Fleischer told reporters. "Because, in the end, as much as the United States will be there with our shoulder to the wheel to help make this happen ... it still in the end is up to the Israelis and the Palestinians to work together on agreement about the terms of the road map to make it meaningful progress."

"We welcome the announcement that the Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Abu Mazen has formed a Cabinet list for submission to the Palestinian Legislative Council," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. "We look forward to speedy confirmation by the Palestinian Legislative Council.

"The United States also looks forward to working with Abu Mazen and with the Israelis as they begin the hard work of ending the violence and returning to a political process that can achieve (U.S. President George W. Bush's) vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security," the spokesman told reporters.

Boucher noted Washington has said it will release the "road map" peace plan on behalf of the Quartet, the mediation group that also includes the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, once the Palestinian Cabinet is confirmed.

EU: Deal will pave way for peace talks on Palestinian state

The European Union welcomed the agreement on a new Palestinian cabinet Wednesday, saying it would pave the way for relaunching of peace talks aimed at creating a Palestinian state.

Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, whose country holds the EU presidency told reporters the new Cabinet under Abu Mazen "will open the way to publishing the road map."

Papandreou, in Brussels for EU meetings, said he had phoned Arafat late last night urging him to end his objections to the Abu Mazen Cabinet.

European Commission President Romano Prodi also praised the agreement, saying in a statement the new cabinet "marks a major step forward for the Palestinian Authority."

Prodi added he expects the peace plan, drawn up by Washington, Russia, the United Nations, and the EU to be presented to Israel and the Palestinians "without delay."

"The people of Israel and the Palestinian territories have already waited too long for peace, there is no more time to lose," Prodi said.

British PM Blair: Now there is every chance of peace

In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and visiting Spanish counterpart Jose Maria Aznar also hailed the agreement.

"Now there is every chance of peace," said Blair, adding that the way was clear for publishing the so-called peace "road map" aimed at creating a Palestinian state by 2005.

Aznar said the agreement was the first step on the way to Israel and the Palestinians living as separate states in peace.

Rantissi warns new PA gov't under Abu Mazen not to wage war on Hamas

Senior Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantissi on Wednesday warned the new Palestinian cabinet under Prime Minister-designate Abu Mazen not to declare war on his organization, Israel Radio reported.

Rantissi said that Hamas will support the new government if it fights the Zionist occupation, but if the government thinks of declaring war on the Jihad warriors, Hamas will fight it.

Rantissi added that this was not an appropriate time to establish a new government. He said efforts to liberate Palestinian lands should continue, despite the international pressure placed on Arafat.

MK Ahmed Tibi, a former Arafat advisor, responded to the Palestinian developments in an interview with Army Radio.

"If anyone thinks - or thought over the past several weeks - that Yasser Arafat ... will disappear or does not exist, they are wrong. They are wrong because they are not correctly reading the Palestinian map," Tibi said.