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Court lets Palestinian leader strip rival of immunity

Court lets Palestinian leader strip rival of immunity | iNFOnews.ca
File - In this Jan. 3, 2011 file photo, Palestinian Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan gestures as he speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah. A court has upheld Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to strip a political rival of his parliamentary immunity. The Constitutional Court ruling, announced Sunday, blocks the return of exiled Mohammed Dahlan to the West Bank for a possible succession battle. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File)

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territory – A court has upheld Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to strip a political rival of his parliamentary immunity.

The constitutional Court ruling, announced late Sunday, blocks the return of Mohammed Dahlan to the West Bank for a possible succession battle.

Dahlan was convicted in absentia of defamation after Abbas lifted his immunity in 2012. A Palestinian court threw out separate corruption charges after ruling Abbas’ immunity decree was not legal.

In the past, only parliament could lift a member’s immunity. Parliament has been defunct since the territorial split of 2007 that left Abbas with West Bank enclaves and the rival Hamas in control of Gaza.

Analyst Jihad Harb said Monday that the court enabled Abbas to go after “anyone else who dares to challenge the power of the president.”

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