Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat has named Ahmed Qorei as the new prime minister and head of a crisis cabinet.
 
The move follows a devastating suicide bombing in Israel and a retaliatory air strike against Syria.

Arafat has also declared a state of emergency in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Nasser Yussuf has been appointed to the sensitive interior ministry.

UN General Secretary Kofi Annan has "deplored" the Israeli airstrike on alleged Palestinian militant training camps in Syria, even as the Security Council prepared to hold an emergency meeting on the issue.

Annan warned that "further escalation of an already tense and difficult situation has the potential to broaden the scope
of current conflict in the region and further threaten peace and security."