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Palestinians vote to strip Abbas of powers
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-07 08:35
Hamas headed into a full-blown confrontation with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, voting to strip him of powers he was hastily awarded by
his Fatah Party in the last session of the outgoing parliament.
Senior Hamas leader
and a member of the Palestinian Parliament Mahmoud Zahar, center, is
surrounded by security as he leaves the first session of the Palestinian
Legislative Council in Gaza City, Monday, March 6, 2006. Hamas headed into
a full-blown confrontation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on
Monday, voting to strip him of powers he was hastily awarded by his Fatah
Party in the last session of the outgoing parliament.
[AP] |
In Gaza City, an Israeli missile strike
killed two Islamic Jihad militants and three bystanders, including two young
boys.
The Hamas-Fatah conflict has been simmering since Hamas swept Fatah out of
office in January parliamentary elections, ending four decades of unchallenged
rule by the party of the late Yasser Arafat.
Hamas has 74 seats in the new parliament and Fatah just 45, and the first
order of business for Hamas was to cancel the powers the outgoing parliament
gave to Abbas, the Fatah leader, authorizing him to cancel laws passed by the
new parliament and appointing Fatah officials to key positions.
In the West Bank administrative capital of Ramallah, Fatah delegates walked
out, accusing Hamas of twisting the rules to weaken Abbas' authority.
About 15 Fatah gunmen marched on parliament in Gaza City, firing into the
air. The gunmen eventually headed to a Fatah meeting, where they demanded their
party stay out of the government Hamas is setting up and threatened to kill any
Fatah official who joined.
With its absolute majority, Hamas can set up a government by itself, but
Hamas leaders prefer to bring in other parties, partly to deflect international
criticism and threatened economic sanctions because of Hamas' record of violence
and refusal to recognize Israel.
Israel, which considers Hamas a terror group, refuses to allow its members of
parliament to travel from Gaza to the West Bank, so the two buildings were
linked by teleconferencing equipment to allow the session to take place.
Hamas easily passed legislation to rescind Abbas' new powers, but some
experts said Abbas has the authority to cancel Monday's resolution, perpetuating
the standoff.
In a statement, Fatah complained the Hamas action "undermines the basis of
dialogue and partnership in any institution with Hamas." A Fatah legislator said
Monday's decisions would be appealed to the Palestinian Supreme Court.
Hamas lawmaker Mushir Masri ridiculed the Fatah reaction. "It is obvious that
some people until now have not understood the rules of the democratic game," he
said.
Abbas was elected president of the Palestinian Authority in January 2005, and
his term has three years to run, regardless of the makeup of parliament.
Though Abbas is seen as a moderate and remains in power, Israel has reacted
to the Hamas victory by cutting off transfer of vital tax money to the
Palestinian Authority, charging that it is now controlled by terrorists.
As the parliament was wrapping up its session, the Israeli air force targeted
an ice cream truck in Gaza City, killing two Islamic Jihad militants and three
bystanders, two of them children, the military and Palestinian officials said.
Seven people were wounded, doctors said.
A spokesman for the group who gave his name as Abu Dajana vowed retaliation.
"God willing we are going to get revenge for the honorable bloodshed today,"
he told reporters outside a morgue at the Shifa hospital in Gaza, where angry
Palestinians chanted, "Death to Israel."
Abbas appealed for international intervention to stop Israeli attacks. "These
aggressive actions threaten the exerted efforts to maintain the truce," he said
in a statement. "Achieving security would come only through negotiations, not
unilateral action and aggression."
The "unilateral action" reference came as Israeli security officials outlined
plans for Israel to cut itself off further from the Gaza Strip, after the summer
withdrawal of soldiers and settlers.
The officials said Israel should gradually reduce and then ban Palestinian
workers from Gaza entering Israel, cut off power, fuel and water supplies and
allow the Palestinians to open a seaport and airport, eliminating Gaza imports
and exports through Israel.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to give details to the media, said security chiefs would present
their plan after Israel's March 28 election.
The recommendations came a day after a key ally of acting Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert said if his Kadima party wins the election, it will take further
unilateral steps in the West Bank, including moving settlers from isolated
points to settlement blocs.
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