Parliament increases Abbas’s powers ahead of Hamas takeover

THE outgoing Palestinian parliament boosted President Mahmoud Abbas’s powers yesterday in what Hamas said was a last-minute bid to keep the Islamic militant group in check after its sweeping election win.

In a final act before ceding to a newly elected Hamas-led parliament on Saturday, members of Mr Abbas’s Fatah party approved an amendment to an existing law which will give Mr Abbas the authority to appoint judges to the Palestinian constitutional court without seeking legislative approval.

Preparing to take the reins of power, Hamas said it would try to overturn the vote. Judges appointed by Mr Abbas to the court could be asked to decide whether laws approved by a Hamas-led parliament are constitutional.