The member of Hamas Political Bureau Mahmoud al-Zahar confirmed that none of the Palestinian factions is authorized to dissolve the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).  

In a press release, al-Zahar added that neither Fatah nor Hamas, or any other faction, could remove the legitimacy of the PLC until a new council is being elected.

During the so-called ‘Palestinian Revolutionary Council’ meeting on Sunday, the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged the Central Council to dissolve the PLC and hold parliamentary and presidential elections.

In response to Abbas’ call, al-Zahar said that this attempt is “a kind of political blackmail, but the Palestinian Constitution is not in Abbas’ favor.”

He added that Abbas has been seizing power since 2009, as the presidential term according to the Palestinian Constitution is only five years noting that, according to the Palestinian Constitution, the President of the Legislative Council should be recognized as a president of Palestine if the legal presidential term ends and in case elections are not held due to any reason.

He confirmed that the Palestinian National Council and Central Council do not represent the Palestinian people, as Abbas has selected their members without elections.

The Hamas leader noted that Hamas agreed with Fatah to hold general elections in 2011, but Fatah evaded the agreement by claiming that Hamas refused to empower the national consensus government in the Gaza Strip.

Regarding the PA’s threats to impose new sanctions on the besieged strip, al-Zahar said that such punitive measures are meant to pressure the Gaza Strip in order to pave the way for the ‘Deal of the Century’. 

Concerning the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war minister Avigdor Lieberman’s threats to attack Gaza, al-Zahar said that the Israeli occupation has achieved nothing from the three consecutive offensives on the coastal territory stressing that the Palestinian resistance is ready to defend its people against any Israeli aggression.   

However, he added, the efforts to achieve a ceasefire agreement are still being exerted, but such endeavors have not met the minimum demands of the Palestinian people yet, above all breaking the Israeli siege on Gaza.