Ref: 158/2007
Date: 11 November 2007
Time: 08:30 GMT
Political Dialogue is the Only Solution to the PLC Crisis
On 7 November 2007, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) held a session in Gaza City with the attendance of 29 PLC members in Gaza. The PLC office in Ramallah was closed. Only 6 West Bank members participated by phone. The pro-Hamas “Change and Reform” bloc considered the session legal with a total of 70 members attending, all from the bloc. On the other hand, the other PLC parties, including the main opposition party Fatah, boycotted the session and considered it illegal.
Prior to the session, the “Change and Reform” bloc members in Gaza gathered authorizations from 35 PLC colleagues imprisoned by Israel. The other parliamentary blocs considered these authorizations as illegal, and lacking support from the Basic Law or PLC bylaws. Hamas considered the authorizations legal, and stated that there is nothing in the Basic Law or PLC bylaws that outlaws such a move. In addition, Hamas stated that the measure comes in response to Israeli attempts to make the PLC devoid of its functions.
PCHR followed the PLC session in question with great concern. This comes as part of the Center’s work in monitoring the performance of the Council on the legislative and monitoring fronts. The Centre has studied the legal and political factors affecting the work of the PLC, including the 7 November session. In this regard, the Centre points to the following observations:
1- PCHR views the current crisis of the PLC as firmly related to the results of the second PLC elections held on 25 January 2006 and resulted in a landslide victory for Hamas. The results were followed by bickering between Fatah and Hamas that completely hindered the work of the PLC.
2- The crisis escalated significantly after Israel detained more than 40 PLC members from the “Change and Reform” bloc in the West Bank and 4 other members from other parliamentary blocs. The detentions deprived Hamas of its parliamentary majority.
3- The PLC crisis escalated further after the decisive military action by Hamas last June and its subsequent takeover of the Gaza Strip. Since then, there have been several attempts to convene the Council; but these attempts failed due to rejection of one party or another.
a. On 5 July 2007, the Acting PLC Speaker Ahmad Bahar called for an opening session in an exceptional round. However, Fatah considered the call a violation of the PLC bylaws and boycotted the session, which was cancelled due to lack of attendance.
b. On 11 July, President Mahmoud Abbas called for the opening session in the second round of the new Council’s term to elect a new Speaker for the Council. The session was not held due to a Hamas boycott.
c. On 22 July, Ahmad Bahar called for a session for a confidence measure for the new emergency government formed by Dr. Salam Fayyad after the Hamas military action in Gaza. However, Fatah members boycotted the session, which was thus cancelled.
4- According to the PLC bylaws the Council convenes its regular annual sessions over two 4-month periods called for by the PA President. The first 4-month term starts in the first week of March and the second in the first week of September. The remaining 4 months can be used for an exception round called for by the PLC Speaker upon the demand of the Prime Minister or 25% of the Council’s members.
5- The current PLC round that started in March 2006 did not end on its scheduled end in March 2007. President Abbas extended the round by consent of all political parties, including Hamas.
6- The reason for the Hamas consent to extending the PLC round was to attempt to resolve the internal strife and crisis between Fatah and Hamas, to form a national unity government, and to end the issue of the PLC members detained in Israel.
7- However, the current round continued after the collapse of the Mecca Agreement, signed between Hamas and Fatah in February 2007, and the collapse of the national unity government formed and given PLC confidence in March 2007. Bloody clashes ensued and resulted in the death of tens from both sides, culminating with the bloody clashes in June that resulted in the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip.
8- These new developments deepened the political crisis at the top of the political pyramid, and deepened the divide in the Executive Authority between the Presidency and Government. This reflected negatively on the Judicial and Legislative Authorities, and hindered their performance. The last few months after the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip have witnessed very serious developments in the institutional build of the PA, most notably:
a. Suspending the work of the police in Gaza based on orders from Ramallah.
b. Stopping the Attorney-General from work by orders from Ramallah.
c. Detention of the Attorney-General by the dismissed government in Gaza after attempting to fire him, and appointing a new Assistant Attorney-General to perform the AG’s duties.
d. Forming a Higher Justice Council and appointing new judges by the dismissed government in Gaza.
9- These developments have had a negative impact on the Legislative Authority due to the bickering between the two main parties. What is happening in the PLC is an extension of the political crisis and a continuation of the deep divide between Fatah and Hamas.
In light of these developments, PCHR:
– Expresses reservation over the last PLC session, and views it as part of the current political crisis. The Centre refrains from entering in a debate on the legality of the session. Both sides of the crisis try to bend the law to serve their political interests. And both sides are destroying the Basic Law and legislations passed over the past years.
– Affirms that Israel, as an occupying power, and the international community bear full responsibility for torpedoing the Palestinian democratic process by undermining the results of the second PLC elections through the detention of PLC members and the financial sanctions against Palestinian civilians.
– Holds the two main parties, Hamas and Fatah, responsible for the crisis in the current political crisis and its impact on the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Authorities.
– Views the last PLC session as legally irrelevant and as part of the crisis deepening the divide and separation between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Thus, the decisions and legislations issued by the Council, in this case, will not be implemented throughout the OPT.
– Renews the affirmation that political dialogue between the main parties is the key to resolving the current political crisis in the OPT. The alternative to dialogue is more chaos and division on all facets of life.
