A senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement on Thursday accused Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement of blocking the work of the Hamas-dominated parliament.

"The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) was disabled after Israel arrested 40 of its Hamas-affiliated members," said Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader based in Gaza.

He added that Hamas' bitter rival Fatah "rejected Hamas' plans to obtain authorization from the detained lawmakers to vote on their behalf."

"Fatah proposed a safety network which means that it can withhold any law or decision that Hamas parliamentary block makes," Zahar said, adding that Fatah prevented Hamas from keeping its majority in the parliament.

Israel arrested the West Bank-based Hamas legislators in 2006 after the Islamic movement captured an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid near the Gaza Strip.

But the PLC was halted completely in June 2007 when Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces and seized control of the Gaza Strip, forcing Fatah to form a government in the West Bank while Hamas boosted its administration in Gaza.

In March 2009, Egypt succeeded to bring Hamas and Fatah together in national reconciliation dialogue. "Reaching an agreement in the Egyptian-sponsored dialogue is subjected to an understanding on reforming the security services and activating the PLC," Zahar revealed.

"Reaching an agreement on one issue doesn't mean a deal unless we agree on everything as a package," Zahar explained.

The factions also agreed on holding elections in January 2010 though they are still undecided about the electoral law.

As they also failed to agree on forming a unified government, Egypt suggested that Hamas and Fatah keep their administrations in Gaza and West Bank and form a committee to liaise between them until the elections start.

(Xinhua News Agency May 7, 2009)