New unity government to review Hamas laws in Gaza
After the formation of the Palestinian unity government, all legislation issued after Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip will be reconsidered, as Fatah officials consider them illegal.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — All legislation and legal amendments that have been introduced to Palestinian law since Hamas took power of the Gaza Strip in 2007 will be thoroughly debated following the formation of the consensual government — which is still under discussion — according to Hassan Khreisheh, the second deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).
Khreisheh told Al-Monitor that the laws, amendments and decrees put forth by Hamas in Gaza, and the ones issued by President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, will be discussed during the new parliamentary session that will gather all members of parliament (MPs) of all factions for the first time since the Palestinian split, aiming to unify the legal environment on both sides. Khreisheh said that this session will be held upon the invitation of Abbas, a month after the formation of the consensual government.
The Hamas movement won a large majority in the PLC in the 2006 elections. However, the movement’s military takeover of Gaza in mid-2007 disrupted the PLC sessions that used to be held uniformly between Gaza and the West Bank. As a result, the PLC only convened in Gaza and was boycotted by the rest of the parliamentary blocs, notably Fatah.
A source in the parliamentary bloc of Fatah, who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, said that since mid-2007, the Hamas parliamentary bloc has issued 20 laws and amendments to Palestinian law, during the unilateral sessions that included Hamas-affiliated MPs only. The legislation and laws affected the civil rule, and education in particular.
