Hamas flexes muscles

last updated 8 January 2015

Gaza

Hamas asserted its new authority in the Palestinian parliament this week by stripping President Mahmoud Abbas of the extra powers the Fatah government had granted on its way out. The Hamas move enraged Fatah members and dimmed the chances that Fatah might join a coalition government. In the West Bank, Fatah deputies walked out, while in Gaza, Fatah militants threatened to shoot anyone who joined a Hamas Cabinet. The legislature meets simultaneously in the West Bank and Gaza, with the two assembly rooms connected by videoconference, because Israel doesn’t allow Hamas leaders to travel between the territories. Fatah said it will appeal to the high court to restore the presidential powers. “We have a government, an opposition, and Hamas in the driver’s seat,” said Fatah legislator Saeb Erekat. “If we can manage this, we will be doing a great job. But the question is, how do we manage it.”