Hamas slams court ruling dissolving parliament

By Mohamed Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian group Hamas has decried a Constitutional Court ruling dissolving parliament, saying the verdict has “no constitutional or legal value”.

The court "was established by [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas to pass and protect his arbitrary decisions of dissolving the legislative council," Hamas said in a statement on Sunday.

The Gaza-based group described the court ruling as “political” and “will not change the reality a bit”.

"The formation of the constitutional court is invalid and so are its decisions," it said.

On Saturday, Abbas pledged to implement the court ruling dissolving the Hamas-held parliament and holding new parliamentary elections within six months.

Hamas said Abbas “is carrying out a desperate attempt to pass his policies by liquidating and destroying the Palestinian political system, ending political pluralism and destroying the legitimate institutions."

The group called on all Palestinian forces and Egypt to stand against "Abbas' procedures that undermine all efforts to protect the unity of the Palestinian people."

Since 2007, a rift has prevailed between Hamas and Abbas’ Fatah group despite mediation efforts for rapprochement.