Ahmed Qurei, or Abu Alla, the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), said Wednesday he has accepted the post of prime minister and will form a crisis cabinet.

"I have accepted the appointment," Qurei told reporters after a meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Well-informed official sources closed to Qurei confirmed that he officially accepted nominating him by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as well as Fatah central committee and the executive committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The sources said that Abu Alla said he would immediately begins his contacts with all parties to form a new Palestinian government of emergency to face the current challenges in the Palestinian territories.

Qurei had conditionally accepted the post right after Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen presented his resignation to Arafat due to power struggle with Arafat over security forces, and Arafat had officially accepted it.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2003)