Palestinian parliament vetoes Fatah decisions

THE Hamas-controlled Palestinian parliament yesterday cancelled all decisions made during the last session of the outgoing legislature, signalling a confrontational approach to dealing with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s party.

The last parliament, dominated by the Fatah Party, gave additional powers to Abbas. Those included empowering Abbas to appoint a new, nine-judge constitutional court that would have the authority to resolve any dispute between him and the Hamas-dominated parliament or Cabinet.

The court also could veto legislation deemed to violate the Palestinians’ Basic Law, a forerunner to the Palestinian constitution.