Ramallah, 22-07-07: Fatah and Hamas must end their boycott of Palestinian parliamentary sessions if a deeper political and constitutional crisis is to be averted, said Member of Parliament and General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi today.
Dr. Barghouthi‘s comments came following the failure of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) to convene for the third time in two weeks today in order to hold a vote of confidence on the new Palestinian government, due to an ongoing boycott of parliamentary members from Fatah.
The MP warned that this active non-participation was undermining the most important democratic institution in Palestine, and called on both sides to bring the boycott to an immediate end.
He added that the new government needs the PLC‘s vote of confidence if it is to achieve legitimacy, and emphasised that a failure to secure this vote could undermine the government‘s legitimacy and lead to a deeper political and constitutional crisis.
Dr. Barghouthi ended by calling on all parties to exert every effort in seeking to re-activate the role of the PLC in Palestinian democracy.