In the 15 months since Hamas won elections, the Palestinian parliament hasn’t passed a single bill. Thumbs up to Reuters for a critical report of a legislative paralysis that would make the most jaded US Congressional insiders blush:
But analysts also say deliberate absences by lawmakers from Hamas and its bitter rival, the secular and long dominant Fatah movement, have entrenched the paralysis….
Frustrated independent lawmakers have accused both blocs of deliberately sabotaging the parliament and members of both main movements accept things need to change.
“Both factions are afraid the other will present bills that are against the interests of the other,” said Hassan Khreisheh, the independent member who is deputy speaker….
Other critics also note that some of the absences from the chamber are not the result of Israeli detentions but a fondness among members for foreign travel: Fatah lawmaker Najat Abu Bakr said her colleagues should stop “parliamentary tourism.”
