Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Saturday that the inoperative Palestinian Authority (PA) parliament, better known as the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), was dissolved, according to a ruling by the Ramallah-based Palestine Constitutional Court.
Abbas did not say when the court issued the ruling that includes holding elections within six months of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) being dissolved.
"The issue reached the Constitutional Court which issued a verdict to dissolve the legislative council and call for legislative elections within six months, and this is what we must implement immediately," Abbas said when meeting members of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) prays at the start of a meeting in Ramallah, December 22, 2018. /VCG Photo
"If Hamas movement rejects the Palestinian reconciliation and end the internal division, we should go to the end in making decisions that were discussed by the central council of the PLO and its other committees," said Abbas.
The step would allow Abbas to further pressure Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip.
Yehya Musa, a senior Hamas leader and member of the PLC, said in a press statement that the decision to dissolve the PLC does not hold any value.
"The decision of Abbas deepens the internal Palestinian division and destroys the Palestinian political system," said Musa, adding that "the PLC will continue working and convene as usual, regardless of Abbas' decision."
Thousands of Hamas supporters gather during a rally to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Hamas in Gaza city, December 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
"The purpose of establishing the Constitutional Court was to attack the basic law and to be a tool in the hands of President Abbas to destroy any Palestinian institution," said Musa.
Hamas is likely to ignore the court order, insisting that the PLC expires automatically when a new one is formed following general elections.
Though the parliament has not met since 2007, when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian law allows for its speaker to act as interim president should 83-year-old Abbas die in office.
Islamic Hamas movement dominates the PLC after it had won about 70 seats out of 132 seats of the parliament in the parliamentary elections held in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in January 2006, resulting in an electoral dispute with Abbas's Fatah.
The split between them persists and has defied several reconciliation attempts.
Protesters wave Palestinian and Fatah flags during a demonstration in West Bank city, Ramallah, September 27, 2018. /VCG Photo
Abbas, whose Fatah is based in the occupied West Bank, has sought to pressure Hamas in recent months by reducing salaries in the Gaza Strip, which is under an Israeli blockade, among other moves.
His administration has opposed recent arrangements that have seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid for salaries and fuel in the Gaza Strip, bypassing Abbas's Palestinian Authority.
Egypt has been seeking to reconcile Hamas and Fatah, but a range of issues have kept the two sides apart, including Hamas's refusal to disarm its military wing.
Abbas's term was meant to expire in 2009, but he has remained in office in the absence of elections.