Palestinian officials from President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction have called on their leader, who also serves as the Chairman of the PLO – the Palestine Liberation Organization – to dissolve the Palestinian Parliament, as part of their efforts to apply additional pressure on Hamas to relinquish control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas holds the majority of seats in the Palestinian parliament, which the internationally recognized terror organization won in the last national elections that were held some 12 years ago. The parliament has been paralyzed since Hamas forcibly seized control of the Gaza Strip, in 2007. Despite that state of affairs, Hamas Members of Parliament still receive monthly salaries from the Palestinian Authority, which amounts to some 3,000 dollars. A statement issued by the Fatah Revolutionary Council called on the PLO Central Council to dissolve the parliament on the grounds that it no longer functions. Hamas responded by rejecting the call, while its officials claimed that no one had the authority to dissolve the Palestinian Parliament.
