Court Clears Obstacle to Abbas-Meshaal Deal on Premiership

This holiday season, give to:

Truth and understanding

The Media Line's intrepid correspondents are in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan providing first-person reporting.

They all said they cover it.

We see it.

We report with just one agenda: the truth.

NEXT FROM

Top Stories

MORE FROM Top Stories

Top Stories

^[1] Why Is Aid Distribution in Gaza So Complex?

07/02/2025

Opinion

^[2] OPINION – Impending Atrocity Crimes: Iranian Opposition Leaders’ Open Letter to Guterres

07/01/2025

Please support TML's boots on the ground.

Donate ^[3]

A potential legal obstacle to implementation of the deal worked out between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal whereby Abbas would serve as both president and prime minister in an interim government was cleared on Tuesday when the Palestinian Constitutional Court in Ramallah ruled it has no jurisdiction over the challenge. The case was brought by a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee member who argued that Abbas is precluded on constitutional grounds from holding both posts. The decision clears the final legal challenges, but underscores the lack of consensus in support for the Doha agreement in which Abbas and Meshaal agreed that a government of technocrats not aligned with any faction would serve until elections for a unity government can be held. Original plans called for the interim government to have already been put in place while elections were to be held in May. Voting has been postponed, but no new date has been set.