Arafat Said to Offer Cabinet Posts to Hamas Members
Yasser Arafat has offered Cabinet posts to Hamas and other militant groups involved in suicide attacks against Israelis as part of a government reshuffle he plans to announce in coming days, Palestinians said Sunday.

While three other radical groups have turned down the Palestinian leader's offer, saying they don't want to belong to a government that's willing to negotiate with Israel, Hamas is still weighing the proposal, the group said.

It would mark the first time in his eight years as chairman of the Palestinian Authority that Arafat formally brought Hamas into government -- a move likely to be strongly opposed by Israel and the United States, which both regard Hamas as a terrorist group.

``We are still consulting with our colleagues inside and outside the homeland and our final response will be declared before the end of this week,'' Hamas spokesman Ismail Hania said of Arafat's proposal.

After 20 months of Mideast fighting that has left Palestinian institutions and their economy in shambles, Arafat has come under strong pressure to restructure the Palestinian government. But his definition of reform is likely to differ sharply from what his critics, including the United States and Israel, hope to see.

``The question is whether the Palestinians are taking this seriously,'' said Danny Seaman, an Israeli government spokesman. Referring to an alliance with Hamas, Seaman said, ``If this is the direction that Arafat takes, he shouldn't be surprised at the attitude that Israel takes in response.''

In negotiations with leading Palestinian factions over the past few weeks, Arafat has been looking at reducing his current 32-member Cabinet to 18 or 19 posts, and bringing in a number of new faces, aides say. The Cabinet has to date had limited power, generally falling in line with decisions by Arafat.

``President Arafat is conducting serious and intensive consultations with Palestinian factions and academics in order to establish a new government,'' said Ahmed Qureia, the speaker of parliament. ``We hope the Palestinian Authority will declare the new government very soon.''

During more than three decades as the Palestinian leader, Arafat has always preferred to rule by consensus and is again looking to bring other factions into the government, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

In Israel, a Hamas-Arafat alliance would be interpreted as an indication that the Palestinians are determined to continue the violent conflict.

However, from Arafat's perspective, having radical groups inside the government could also make them easier to control. It was not clear whether Arafat was making compliance with his call for an end to suicide attacks a condition of Hamas entering the government.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Israel-Palestinians.html