Court Clears Obstacle to Abbas-Meshaal Deal on Premiership

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.