Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is giving more power to military courts at the expense of the legislature in moves that worry human rights groups, according to a report in the American-based McClatchy newspaper group. On Monday, Abbas granted military courts broader power to sentence Arabs accused of harming "public safety."
"This could be the beginning of the end of the Palestinian Authority," said Mustafa Barghouti, a widely respected independent legislator and former PA information minister. Dr. Ali Kashan, a legal advisor to Abbas, said the moves are "dangerous for the future."
The moves follow Abbas's firing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as Prime Minister after the Hamas military takeover in Gaza. The Hamas-controlled legislature has not met on any serious issues for several months, and Israel has arrested a large number of Hamas lawmakers, who must give Abbas a two-thirds majority to extend the term of the emergency government.