Arafat Convenes New Cabinet, Says to Set Elections
The Palestinian leader opened the first meeting of his reshuffled cabinet in Ramallah after Israeli forces ended a three-day occupation of the West Bank city, a siege which had prevented the session from taking place earlier in the week.

``The municipal elections will be held as soon as possible and legislative and presidential elections will be held in either December or January,'' Arafat said at the start of the session.

``In the next few days we will issue an official order to set the date for these elections,'' he said.

Arafat pared down his cabinet to 21 ministers on Sunday and has said he will streamline his security services as part of a reform of his Palestinian Authority called for by Palestinian lawmakers, the United States and Israel.

The five new ministers in the cabinet were sworn in.

Arafat also reiterated his commitment to peacemaking, despite more than 20 months of bloodshed in a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.

``We should give the path of the peace of the brave...the chance it deserves for the security and the peace of the Israeli people and the Palestinian people and the rest of the region's people,'' Arafat said.

He called for an end to the ``cycle of violence and bloodshed...establishing a just, comprehensive and lasting peace.''

Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said before the start of the meeting that it would draw up a work plan outlining the responsibilities of the new cabinet, which serves as an interim government until elections are held.

Arafat said the next step was to reconstruct ministries and government agencies to enforce accountability and transparency.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-mideast.html