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Abbas’s authority

Is there anything that can end the Hamas-Fatah stalemate? It’s been eight months since Hamas was voted into power, but no functioning government looks poised on the horizon. In his capacity as president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas can disband the cabinet and form an emergency government. But what then? According to a recent paper ...

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Is there anything that can end the Hamas-Fatah stalemate? It's been eight months since Hamas was voted into power, but no functioning government looks poised on the horizon. In his capacity as president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas can disband the cabinet and form an emergency government. But what then? According to a recent paper by the Carnegie Endowment's Nathan J. Brown, the impasse would likely continue.

Is there anything that can end the Hamas-Fatah stalemate? It’s been eight months since Hamas was voted into power, but no functioning government looks poised on the horizon. In his capacity as president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas can disband the cabinet and form an emergency government. But what then? According to a recent paper by the Carnegie Endowment’s Nathan J. Brown, the impasse would likely continue.

Existing arrangements give Abu Mazin very few tools to act unilaterally. Almost any change would require either Hamas’s consent or a violation of the Basic Law.”

For instance, Abbas can remove Ismail Haniya’s government from power, but a vote by the Legislative Council, in which Hamas holds the majority, forms the next cabinet; Abbas can declare a state of emergency for up to 30 days, but only the Council has the power to extend it. In short, even if Abbas invokes emergency powers, Hamas is here to stay.

Tags: Israel, Middle East and North Africa, Palestine, Politics, Terrorism

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