On Monday, Hamas and Fatah officials exchanged accusations and condemnations over the status of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council.

According to the Palestinian basic law, the four-year term for the PLC ends on Monday. Hamas, which won elections in Gaza in January 2006, declares that until a new election is held, the council is still legal. Fatah insists that there must be an immediate election to have a legal council.

Azzam al-Ahmad, head of Fatah party block in the parliament, said in a press statement: “According to the Palestinian basic constitution, al-Dewik is not anymore the speaker of the council. The only person who is authorized to call…a special session for the parliament is President Mahmoud Abbas.”

Palestine: Conflicting Statements from Hamas on Israel’s Right to Exist
Israel-Palestine: Netanyahu Makes A Move on the West Bank

On the other hand, Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas movement’s spokesman, told Xinhua that ” the current parliament will be legal until new elections are held and the new elected legislatures do the sworn-in”, adding “Hamas is not afraid of holding the elections, but only after ending the current division and reconciliation.”

Zuhri, indeed, went one step further: “The problem is not whether the parliament is legal or illegal, because according to the law, it is legal until the new elections are held. But the problem is with Abbas, who is not anymore representing the Palestinians after his mandate expired.”

Tags: Azzam al-Ahmad, Fatah, Hamas, Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian Legislative Council, Sami Abu Zuhri

Israel-Palestine-US Special: Stakes Raised With Approval of More Settlements
Middle East Inside Line: Threats Begin To Fly Between Palestine & Israel

Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis

Officials from the Palestinian Liberation Organization stated on Tuesday that Abbas’s term as the Palestinian “President” will be extended when the PLO supreme body meets in December. Abbas’s term, depending on the interpretation of Palestine’s electoral law, has already expired or officially expires on 25 January.

Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior official in Fatah said: “The Central Council has only one solution and it is to entrust the president, as head of the PLO, with continuing as president of the Palestinian Authority until it is able to hold presidential and legislative elections.”

Tags: Azzam al-Ahmad, Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian Liberation Organization

Earlier Updates and Links to Posts: The Latest from Israel-Gaza-Palestine (25 January)

10:10 p.m. So We’re Hopeless at Diplomacy but….The European Union on Monday put itself firmly behind the US- and Israeli-led plan to block arms shipments to Gaza: “”The EU welcomes the commitment of the United States to contribute to stopping arms smuggling into Gaza and is prepared to identify ways to cooperate in such efforts.”

An internal EU paper proposed that European help could include training of security forces, provision of necessary specialised equipment and, a curious and unclear provision, “the creation of alternative incomes”.

10 p.m. President Bashir al-Assad, pressing his advantage from Syria’s position in the Gaza conflict, has said that there can be talks with Israel but only on Damascus’ terms, “If whoever is elected in Israel won’t be willing to pull out of the Golan Heights, there will be no negotiations.” He added:

We held talks with Israel over recent weeks, but Israel did not convey its commitment to peace talks, and it became clear that they only understand the language of force.

Assad took a no-cost shot at outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, “If Olmert were to come to me today and say that he was ready for peace, what could we tell him? We would tell him that he is a criminal and that we don’t talk to criminals.”

And the sharp-eyed might care to notice Assad’s choice of outlet for his statement: Hezbollah’s Al-Manar Television.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Al-Manar, Alive in Gaza, Azzam al-Ahmad, Barack Obama, Bashir al-Assad, dense inert metal explosives, Ehud Olmert, European Union, Fatah, Gaza, George Mitchell, Hamas, Hosni Mubarak, Israel, Jamal Abu Hashem, Javier Solana, Louis Michel, Palestine, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Robert Wood, Sameh Habeeb, Spike missiles, Syria, Tunnels, Turkey, white phosphorous, white phosphorus