[1] It was headed by newly appointed Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and established by presidential decree.

On 6 September 2003, Mahmoud Abbas resigned as Prime Minister and Ahmed Qurei was asked to become PM of an emergency government.

[2] Following a suicide bombing in Haifa on 4 October, Israel threatened to "remove" Arafat and urged him to act within 48 hours.

Palestinian sources said Yousef had refused to join the government because he was unhappy Arafat had appointed an emergency Cabinet instead of going through the normal channels.

After Arafat's death, Nasser Yousef became at last Minister of Interior and National Security in the Palestinian Authority Government of February 2005.