This sucks, but isn't really much of a surprise. Just another indicator as to how things are not going to be changing anytime soon.

The thing is, how the fuck can things change, even with things like the appointment of a Palestinian Prime Minister? I mean, the guy was hand-picked by Arafat, so that already seems to imply a conflict of interest.

Of course, Abbas decides to show some balls (for whatever reasons he has), and Arafat throws a fit. So even if there is no conflict of interest, we end up with this situation. In the end, they're going to have a premiership that is shaped by Arafat. Stubbornness like that, which exists on both sides of the confilict, is going to keep the conflict going for a long, long time.