JERUSALEM, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Another internal dispute is reported within the Palestinian Authority, this concerning the role of the PA's minister for external affairs, Nabil Shaath.
The Jerusalem Post said Shaath -- appointed by Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas earlier this year -- has become the de facto foreign minister in the Palestinian cabinet.
And that fact, reports the Post, has angered the Palestine Liberation Organization's veteran "foreign minister," Farouk Kaddoumi, who for the past quarter century has served as the head of PLO's political department.
Both Shaath and Kaddoumi view themselves as being in charge of the 70 Palestinian "embassies" around the world. The Post said both men have been sending letters to the embassies, each claiming he, and not the other, is in charge.
The newspaper quoted Palestinian sources as saying the dispute began after Abbas appointed Shaath as the official representative to the meetings of the Arab League instead of Kaddoumi.
The decision is also reportedly viewed as a challenge to PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, who regards Kaddoumi as a key loyalist.
