Hamas lawmakers convene Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza

The PLC Chamber in Gaza [Ma'anImages]

19 February 2008

Gaza – Ma'an – Hamas lawmakers convened the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) on Tuesday for the first time this year in the Gaza Strip .

The legislators unanimously reaffirmed support for a law, passed by the Hamas-controlled chamber last year, that prohibits the surrender of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

According to article 70 of the Palestinian basic law, the new law should be submitted to the Palestinian president for ratification, and if he does not respond within 30 days, the law goes into effect and will be published in the official newspaper.

Acting PLC Speaker Ahmad Bahar opened the session with a speech in which he extended his greetings Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, especially PLC speaker Dr Aziz Dweik and other PLC members. He also saluted the Palestinian people for what he sees as steadfastness in the face of the Israeli aggression.

He also condemned the Israeli excavations around the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem and settlement activities in the capital which he said are intended to displace the city's indigenous Palestinian residents.

Bahar also called on Palestinian president to stop holding "pointless" meetings with the Israelis because, in his view, they provide political cover for Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Bahar criticized the West Bank-based caretaker government, headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, calling the government "illegal." He said: "The PLC speaker herby affirms that any act or law made by Salam Fayyad's government will be completely illegal according to the Palestinian constitution because it is made by an illegal government. That government came to power by force and was not sworn-in by the PLC. That was unprecedented violation of the Palestinian law and a great criminal act against democracy and the rule of law."

Bahar also condemned attacks against Christians in Palestine and their properties such as the assault against the YMCA in Gaza on Sunday and the killing of Christian librarian Rami Ayyad.

Hamas' "Change and Reform" bloc won a majority in the PLC in January 2006. After taking control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fired the Hamas-led unity government and appointed a caretaker government that holds power in the West Bank.