VZCZCXRO6847
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1232 1661627
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151627Z JUN 07
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8055
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 001232 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/WATERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG IS PTER KPAL
SUBJECT: NABIL AMR AND AZZAM AL-AHMAD ON SELECTION OF NEW 
CABINET 
 
 
Amr: Cabinet Consultations in Progress 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Nabil Amr told the ConGen POL specialist on June 15 
that President Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and his close 
advisors are nearing consensus on names for cabinet ministers 
under PM Salam Fayyad and will meet at 1800 local June 15 at 
the Muqata' in Ramallah to finish consultations.  He said 
they are still debating whether all ministers should be 
independents or whether some can be Fatah.  Amr said Abbas 
and Fayyad need rapid U.S. assurances that the restrictions, 
which were imposed after Hamas won the January 2006 
parliamentary elections, will be lifted immediately after the 
new government is formed.  He said this USG step will go a 
long way to ensure public support and counter Hamas attacks 
on the new government's legitimacy and prospects for success. 
 Amr said he had proposed Abd al-Razaq al-Yihya for Interior 
Minister (MoI).  (Note: Al-Yihya was MoI under Yasser Arafat 
in the mid-1990s.  He is respected for his long service, but 
he is also elderly, infirm and not considered a dynamic 
leader.  End Note.). 
 
Al-Ahmad: Cabinet of Independents Best 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Fatah PLC Bloc leader (and Deputy PM in the 
now-defunct NUG) Azzam al-Ahmad evinced strong disappointment 
at not being named PM, but told the ConGen POL specialist 
June 15 that the new Cabinet should consist entirely of 
independents, to ensure it is perceived as a legitimate 
emergency government and to blunt Hamas accusations that it 
is an illegitimate collection of Fatah opportunists. 
Al-Ahmad said he will attend the June 15 Arab League meeting 
and that Jordanian representatives had assured him of 
unreserved Jordanian support for Abu Mazen.  He said the new 
Cabinet must take credit for restrictions being lifted within 
30 days of its formation and before the initial 30-day 
emergency decree period lapses to boost the Cabinet 
legitimacy and ensure its mandate is renewed. 
WALLES