Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurei has delayed a parliamentary vote on his new cabinet after struggling to get enough support from legislators.
The MPs rejected an earlier line-up deemed to have too many of the late leader Yasser Arafat's old cronies.
Mr Qurei himself could be ousted by a no-confidence vote if parliament continues to object to his choices.
A new list of reformers would enable the new Palestinian Authority president to change the corruption-dogged body.
The vote will now take place at 1100 (0900 GMT) on Thursday, parliamentary officials said.
MP Hanan Ashrawi said the parliament's rebellion marked a turning point for Palestinian politics.
"If the government does not get approval, we will discuss someone instead of Abu Ala who can form a cabinet"
On Monday, Mr Qurei caused outrage among Fatah and other MPs by presenting a cabinet that included only four new faces, and many more from the Arafat era when ministerial jobs were handed out on the basis of connections rather than competence.
New faces
PA President Mahmoud Abbas has largely stayed clear of the cabinet row, but on Wednesday he met fellow members of the Fatah faction in Ramallah to urge their support for Mr Qurei's latest list.
Successful reform of the Authority is a key plank in Mr Abbas's policy to gain Palestinian credibility in any future peace process with Israel.
MPs said Mr Qurei - also known as Abu Ala - would have to be replaced as prime minister if his proposed cabinet failed to win support.
"The general feeling was that this cabinet will fall," said Fatah legislator Jamal Shobaki quoted by Associated Press.
"If the government does not get approval today, then we will discuss someone instead of Abu Ala who can form a cabinet," said Fatah MP Abdul Fatah Hamayel, before the announcement of the delay.
The cabinet needs support of a simple majority for ratification and Fatah holds about two thirds of the seats in the 85-seat parliament. The other main Palestinian political grouping, the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, boycotts the parliament.
Details of the new line-up are sketchy, although on Tuesday Mr Qurei promised a list consisting mainly of professional appointees rather than politicians.
There are thought to be 10 new names on the latest list, reports say.
Most prominent among the professional appointees are incumbent finance minister Salam Fayyad, incoming interior minister Nasser Yousef, a former general, and the former envoy to the United Nations Nasser al-Kidwa who is earmarked to be foreign minister.
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