RAMALLAH, West Bank: The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip deferred for sometime the row between rival Fatah and Hamas over Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ term in office, which expired yesterday.
Abbas was elected as president of the Palestinian Authority in January 2005 to a four-year term.
Fatah officials and Abbas’ aides said he has no plans to step down in the near future, claiming that the PA’s Basic Law allows him to stay in power for another year.
Meanwhile, Hamas officials said yesterday that they would not recognize Abbas’ status as president of the PA.
But they also made it clear that they would not demand his resignation for now “because of the Israeli war” in the Gaza Strip. “This is not the time to talk about such matters,” said one Abbas aide. “President Abbas was elected by a majority of the people, and as such he’s the legitimate leader. He represents all the Palestinians and not only those living in the West Bank.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad said in a press conference on Thursday that the law calls for holding presidential and legislative elections simultaneously. And since the legislative elections are due to be held in January 2010, Abbas is entitled to stay in office for an additional year, he explained.
However, Hamas and some Palestinian legal experts have openly challenged Abbas’ right to remain in power after the expiration of his term.
“Thursday was Abbas’ last day in office,” said Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon. “Our position on this issue is clear: Abbas’ term in office has expired.”
Mushir Al-Masri, a Hamas MP in the Gaza Strip, said Abbas would lose credibility because of his refusal to step down. “He doesn’t have the right to speak on behalf of the people,” he said. “He’s in power only because the Israelis and the Americans want him to stay.”
According to the Palestinian Constitution, the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council is supposed to serve as acting PA president for a period of 60 days, after which presidential elections are to be held.
The current speaker of the Hamas-dominated Palestine Legislative Council (PLC), Abdulaziz Dwaik, is serving a 36-month sentence in Israel for membership in Hamas. His deputy, Ahmed Bahar, also a senior Hamas official, is based in the Gaza Strip.
