Outgoing PA parliament tightens Abbas' grip on gov't

Here's a nice "in your face" from PA leader Abbas and his former ruling Fatah party to the incoming Hamas party. It's wonderful when terrorist fight with each other instead of murdering inoccent people.

The outgoing Palestinian parliament gave Mahmoud Abbas sweeping new powers Monday, just days before Hamas was to take control of the legislature.
In their final session, lawmakers from Abbas' defeated Fatah Party gave the Palestinian leader the authority to appoint a new constitutional court which would serve as the final arbiter in disputes between him and a Hamas government.
Lawmakers also appointed Fatah loyalists to four key jobs, including the head of the government watchdog group in charge of weeding out official corruption. Hamas won last month's parliament elections largely on a promise to end years of nepotism, graft and mismanagement by Fatah.
A fuming Hamas termed the 11th-hour legislation "not legitimate" and vowed to overturn it. One of its incoming legislators called the legislation "a bloodless coup."
Hamas would need a two-thirds majority - or 88 of 132 seats in parliament - to change Monday's legislation. It is unclear whether Hamas would muster such a majority. It will control 74 seats in the new parliament, but can also count on support from several independents.
With the new, Hamas-dominated legislature scheduled to convene for the first time on Saturday, the old legislature struck hard in its last session. of nepotism, graft and mismanagement by Fatah.

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