Special Report: Hamas forming Palestinian Government 

    RAMALLAH, March 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) held its first session in the West Bank city of Ramallah and Gaza on Monday since being sworn in last month.

Palestinian prime minister designate Ismail Haniya (C) attends the first session of the Hamas-led Palestinian legislative Council meeting in Gaza City. The newly dominant Hamas faction flexed its muscles in the first working session of the incoming Palestinian parliament by repealing a series of measures passed by the outgoing MPs.(Xinhua/AFP)

     The session was marred by shouting between Hamas and Fatah lawmakers when the new parliament voted to revoke previous parliament decisions to grant additional powers to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

    Fatah lawmakers walked out of the parliament in protest against Hamas's move to cancel the related legislative decisions, including one which allowed Abbas to appoint judges without parliament approval.

    The previous PLC, dominated by Abbas-led Fatah movement, has approved more than 200 laws in the past ten years.

    Mahmood Ramahee, Secretary of PLC Speaker, denied the report that Hamas would change all the laws that approved by the previous PLC, saying that "We will keep the laws which are useful to our people and changed the others."

    Meanwhile, Hamas is still negotiating with other factions on forming a coalition government to be approved by the PLC.

    Senior Hamas official Ismail Haneya was given three weeks to form the next government by the basic law after he was appointed as prime minister by Abbas on Feb. 21.

    But the law grant him two more weeks once he fails to finish the work on time.

    Hamas efforts to persuade the former ruling Fatah movement to join the new cabinet has so far failed to bear fruit.

    "There are a lot of difficulties, but finally we will succeed," Khaled Suleiman, spokesman of Hamas in the PLC told Xinhua.

    Palestinian analyst Khaleel Shaheen also expressed his optimistic on Hamas' cabinetmaking.

    "I believe Hamas is ready to form the government by itself, there is no problem for them to do so, but the problem will be facing the Palestinians after that," he told Xinhua.

    Hamas won 74 out of 132 PLC seats in the Jan. 25 parliamentary elections, which means it will have the ability to amend or pass any law except the basic law which need approval by two thirds of the PLC.

    At present, 10 Hamas PLC members including its leader in the West Bank Hasan Yousef and four Fatah PLC members including the prominent leader Marwan Barghothee are being held in Israeli prisons.

    It is very difficult for those detained in Israeli prisons to vote in the PLC.

    The tension between Hamas and Fatah over power struggle has triggered a series of demonstration and clashes since the long dominant Fatah was defeated by Hamas in legislative elections.

    Fatah's armed wing Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades demonstrated in front of the PLC in Ramallah and shot in the air after Fatah official Epraheem Khreaisha, who was appointed by the previous PLC as the general director of the PLC, was sacked by the new PLC Speaker Azeez Dweik.

    "Azeez Dweik said he will dismiss five directors from Fatah in PLC," Epraheem told Xinhua.

    "We faced terror from Hamas members in the PLC," he added.

    However, Dweik denied that he will dismiss the employees from the PLC.

    "But some people try to show that the speaker of the PLC is weak and I will never allow that," he told Xinhua.

    Responding to the ongoing demonstration staged by Fatah, Azeez warned that "if Fatah members continue to do so I don't think the PLC will do well." Enditem