Region | Palestinian Territories
Abbas outlaws Hamas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has outlawed the Islamic militant Hamas movement, his office said. He also swore in an emergency Cabinet, to replace the Hamas-Fatah coalition he had dismantled.
- Agencies
- Published: 23:36 June 18, 2007
- Image Credit: Reuters
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas outlawed the militant Hamas movement on Sunday.
Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday outlawed the Islamic militant Hamas movement, his office said.
A formal announcement was to be released shortly, said aides in Abbas' office.
Abbas also swore in an emergency Cabinet, to replace the Hamas-Fatah coalition he dismantled after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip by force.
The Cabinet is led by respected economist Salam Fayyad, who will also serve as finance minister.
Earlier, Abbas had issued decrees to bypass constitutional limits on his powers to establish an emergency government shutting out Islamist Hamas, aides said on Sunday.
They said the decrees, issued late on Saturday, would allow Abbas, who heads the secular Fatah, to keep a planned cabinet in place without parliamentary approval. The new 13-member cabinet was to be sworn in at 1 p.m.
Related Links
- Hamas vows to take fight to West Bank
- Crowd loots Arafat's Gaza home
- Latest fighting is 'last nail in Palestinian coffin'
- Haniya calls for restraint as looters run riot in presidential compound
- Heavily armed forces patrol Ramallah
- Abbas tries to regain control
- Egypt withdraws diplomats from Gaza
- Hamas fighters defy Abbas
- Haniya rules out declaring Gaza state
Hamas ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip last week, prompting Abbas to dissolve the factions' coalition government and declare a state of emergency. Hamas had rejected the moves as a "coup".
Under Palestinians law, the state of emergency is not to exceed 30 days, but it could be extended for another period of 30 days after winning the approval of two thirds of the parliament.
Hamas holds a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council though Israeli arrests of its deputies makes it difficult to reach a quorum and hold decision-making sessions.
That could enable Abbas to keep the state of emergency in place longer. Some Fatah officials and US diplomats have argued that Abbas could rule by decree for six months to a year ahead of new elections.
More from Palestinian Territories
More from Region
News Editor's choice
-
Ukraine leaders fight over Russian language
Violence erupts in Ukraine parliament over a bill to allow use of Russian language in courts, hospitals
-
CBSE: 100% success in many UAE schools
6,000 students from 53 schools meet grade expectations in examinations
-
'I can’t believe he is not going to come back'
Seventeen-year-old boy went missing in Dubai during a visit from Pakistan
