Hamas terrorists in Gaza
Hamas terrorists in GazaFlash 90

Mohammed-Faraj al-Ghoul, chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council's Constitution Committee and one of the senior Hamas figures in Gaza, on Thursday attacked Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas and called on him to step down.

Al-Ghoul noted that Abbas’s term in office is illegitimate since his original term after the elections ended years ago.

He rejected Abbas's claim that the Arab League had extended his term, noting that the Arab League had no authority to extend the term of Arab leaders, and that this question should be determined in accordance with the Palestinian Basic Law, which mandates the transfer of powers to the speaker of the parliament (a member of Hamas) who is supposed to arrange elections within two months.

In order to prevent such a scenario, Al-Ghoul claimed, Abbas deliberately prevents the convening of the Palestinian parliament and refuses to allow the parliament speaker to enter the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Kanou said that the Palestinian government, which received governmental powers in Gaza following the reconciliation agreement with Hamas, had become a government that had lost its character as a national consensus government and represented a single political stream.

In light of this situation, he urged the government to leave Gaza and called on the Palestinian leadership to form a national unity government.

The PA parliament which was elected for a four-year term in 2005 has yet to be dissolved, despite the fact that three terms have already passed since its election.