RAMALLAH, West Bank ? The new Palestinian Cabinet ran into its first hitch Tuesday while being sworn in, when the man slated to oversee security refused to take the oath in what officials called a turf struggle with Yasser Arafat.

Arafat appointed Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and the other Cabinet members by decree Sunday, circumventing the legislature in an apparent bid to block Israeli action against the Palestinian leader in response to a deadly bombing.

Israel and the United States have made clear Qureia will be judged on his success in ending terror attacks. But Nasser Yousef, the man who as interior minister-designate was to have overseen the effort, refused to take the oath, though he was present Tuesday.

Arafat and Yousef have clashed in recent weeks over who would run the disparate Palestinian security forces. Palestinian officials have said Arafat continues to insist on overall control, but Yousef would not comment Tuesday.

Arafat declared a state of emergency and appointed Qureia’s Cabinet by decree Sunday, a day after an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber blew herself up in a restaurant in the Israeli port city of Haifa, killing 19 people, including several children.

There was speculation at the time the bombing would cause Israel to carry out its threat — made in the wake of two suicide bombings last month — to “remove” Arafat, wording interpreted as meaning expulsion or even assassination. Arafat’s move seemed an effort to forestall such action.