West Bank residents accuse Palestinian PM of failing to deliver his promises since taking office. Despite unmitigated criticism of Israel for their plight, Palestinians have few kind words for their own prime minister Ahmed Qorei, accusing him Thursday of doing nothing to improve their lives in his first six months in office. Defending his government's record in the Ramallah-based parliament a day earlier, Qorei blamed his lack of progress on the worsening security and economic conditions caused by Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, as well as on internal divisions. For many residents in the central West Bank town, Qorei's performance to date has been decidedly lackluster. "Nothing has changed with Abu Ala (Qorei). The Israeli occupation is still around with its siege and closures," said 30-year-old lawyer and Ramallah resident Mutasen Awaudeh. Like many in the Palestinian territories he said "any Palestinian government will stay paralyzed because of Israel, whether his or any other government." Yasser Ziadeh, a 37-year-old supermarket owner in this central West Bank town, said "the occupation interferes with the work of the government." But he said Qorei had "achieved at least one good thing: employees in the security services get their salaries from the bank and no longer from their bosses." In early March, giving in to international pressure for increased financial transparency and European threats to cut its budgetary aid, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat agreed to have the salaries of security forces paid into their bank accounts, as is the case for other civil servants. But in Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank, 44-year-old secretary Nawal Barham slammed Qorei's government as "weak and inefficient." She said it was worse than that of his predecessor, US-backed Mahmud Abbas, who resigned in frustration and was replaced by Qorei in early October. "At least it was more stable and civil servants were being paid on time," he said. Khalil Jaber, 33, a cleaner in Ramallah, complained that the "government is not serving the people. It would be better not to have a government under occupation." He said ministers were spending public funds meant for poor Palestinians "on their cars and houses." Farther south in Hebron, Ali Abu Alan, a 55-year-old businessman, said Qorei had failed to deliver on two promises he made when he took office. "He said he would stop the Israeli separation wall in the West Bank and improve the internal security situation. The wall is progressing by the day, taking in our land, and crime and robberies are plaguing the territories," he said. Mohammed Jamil, a 42-year-old taxi driver in Nablus, in the northern West Bank, did not hide his distaste for Qorei. "He's not doing anything for us. The internal security is chaotic. When I see him on television, I immediately change the channel," he said. International organizations such as the World Bank and United Nations estimate that more than 60 percent of Palestinians are struggling to survive on less than two dollars a day. Echoing a recurrent Israeli and US criticism, Mustafa Hamed, a 36-year-old grocery store owner in Nablus, said Qorei "is under Arafat's thumb and he can't contradict him. That's why nothing has changed and nothing will ever change." In the Gaza Strip, 20-year-old student Abed Ahmed said "Abu Ala is serious, smart and patriotic but Israel does not want to give him a chance to succeed on the domestic front because he is too close to president Arafat." **PHOTO CAPTION*** Hardship under Israeli occupation. (Middle East On Line)