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Dweik is real Palestinian president
[Jerusalem Post Middle East] Hamas said on Wednesday that Abdel Aziz Dweik, the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council who was released a day earlier from Israeli prison, should be treated as acting president of the Palestinian Authority.Meanwhile, the PA is planning to release on Thursday 40 Hamas members who are being held without trial in its prisons in the West Bank. Earlier this week, the PA leadership said it would free hundreds of Hamas detainees as a gesture aimed at boosting the chances of reconciliation with the Islamist movement. According to the PA constitution, if the office of the president is considered vacant, the PLC speaker serves as interim president for 60 days until new elections are held in the Palestinian territories. Mahmoud Abbas's four-year term ended in January, turning Dweik, the most senior Hamas representative in the West Bank, into acting president, according to Hamas. "Dweik is the real president of the Palestinian people after Abbas's term in office expired in January," said Hamas legislator Salem Salameh. Dweik's release has raised concerns among Fatah representatives in the West Bank who also criticized Abbas for rushing to phone him shortly after he walked out of prison. Posted by: Fred 2009-06-26 |
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