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Hamas rejects Abbas' new government as illegal
Hamas on Saturday rejected as unconstitutional the government appointed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to replace a Hamas-led cabinet, and called for parliament to convene to try to reverse the decision. Abbas, who leads the secular Fatah faction, disbanded a government led by the Islamist group and formed an emergency administration after Hamas seized the Gaza Strip by force on June 14. Since then he has ruled by emergency decree. Responding to a constitutional limit on the 30-day state of emergency, Abbas on Friday swore in three new ministers and reappointed Salam Fayyad as prime minister. Fatah said the manoeuvres put the government on a new legal footing. But Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the caretaker government was illegal. He said the Islamist group will not deal with it in any way or form, and we call upon our people not to deal with it. Hamas called for a special session of the Palestinian parliament to be convened on Sunday to try to challenge Abbass decisions. Posted by: Fred 2007-07-15 |
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