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Palestinian PM-designate little-known at home
From Kelly Wallace
RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) -- After settling a tense standoff with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Prime Minister-designate Abu Mazen must set his sights on winning the Palestinian Parliament's approval of his Cabinet -- and building support among the Palestinian people. The parliament could meet as early as Monday. As for the people on the streets, many said they are taking a wait-and-see approach to Abu Mazen, whose real name is Mahmoud Abbas. He is better known by the honorific Abu Mazen. Zahera Odea, a Palestinian mother of three, said she's hopeful Abu Mazen will improve life for the Palestinians but she said she has her doubts. "I wish he were elected by the Palestinians and not by the other sides," she said. A common refrain on the streets of Ramallah is that Abu Mazen is the handpicked choice of the Americans and Israelis, who refuse to do business with Arafat. "The Israeli government -- and the American government -- when they are interfering in the Palestinian issue -- that is a problem," said one 24-year-old single businessman. The Egyptian-brokered deal, with Arafat's acceptance of Abu Mazen's slate of Cabinet ministers, was front-page news this week in the Palestinian press. (Full story) But many in Ramallah seem ambivalent about the man who will be in charge of their day-to-day affairs. "I think the same like other Palestinians," a father of one said. "Until now, we didn't see anything from him so I can't make a decision." Abu Mazen has remained largely behind the scenes during most of his career, never rallying the Palestinian public behind him. His standing on the streets reflects this low profile. His popularity rating -- according to a recent poll of Palestinians -- was 3 percent. Arafat's popularity was at 35 percent. A group of longtime friends in Ramallah said they agree Abu Mazen's future will depend on another prime minister -- Ariel Sharon of Israel. A self-declared spokesman of the group -- a father of 11 -- said: "The resolution is in the hand of Israel; it's not in our hands. If Israel makes the peace, we respect the peace. If they don't make the peace, we don't respect the peace." A major challenge for Abu Mazen will be convincing Israel to pull out of Palestinian towns and convincing radical Palestinian groups to halt attacks such as Thursday's blast outside a train station, which killed an Israeli security guard. (Full story) "For sure, Abu Mazen will stop the suicide bombings," a 24-year-old secretary said, "because as long as there are attacks, Israel will use that as an excuse." But Odea said she disagreed. "Abu Mazen can't stop them," she said. "Even if he's prime minister, what can he do? He can't do anything."
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