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Source: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/498070.html
Abbas-Qurei Government Foreseen
(Ha'aretz)Arnon Regular - The first reports of Arafat's rapid decline reached Ramallah Thursday morning. In their wake, the PLO's executive committee convened an urgent meeting, with Abbas serving as chairman in Arafat's place. Most senior members of Fatah, which is the PLO's main faction, have already accepted that, for now, former prime minister Mahmoud Abbas will take over most of Arafat's functions, with Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei assuming the rest. The prevailing assessment is that no one will try to challenge Abbas and Qurei during the first several weeks after Arafat's death. Mohammed Dahlan, who served as a minister under Abbas but was ousted by Arafat, is thought to be behind much of the recent internecine violence in Gaza. His associates set up an Internet site, called Palestine Press, that publishes Dahlan's press statements. Jibril Rajoub, former head of the Preventive Security Service in the West Bank and Dahlan's rival, is considered a candidate for an important security post in the Abbas-Qurei government.