Word: parliament
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...what happens in lawless Afghanistan in the next two years? Yet that is what officials on both sides of the Atlantic are saying as the alliance faces up to the reality of its ambition, announced in February 2005, to take on a bigger role in Afghanistan. The Dutch parliament is now threatening to pull the plug on the Netherlands' 1,200-strong contribution to the expanded mission. The Netherlands is still gripped by the humiliation its country's troops suffered almost 10 years ago when they were taken hostage and then had to stand by as Muslims were herded...
...case of serious escalation. It also stipulated that any prisoners Dutch troops took would be treated in accordance with international law, spared from the death penalty - and not sent to Guantánamo. But observers stress that the government needs a substantial majority in the 150-seat parliament - "more than just 75 and a handful," as one Foreign Ministry official said - to go ahead with the deployment. Even if the mandate for deployment is clear, there's a risk that coalition partner D66 may pull out of the government and trigger new elections. De Hoop Scheffer, until recently...
...priority for Hamas right now, nor will it be for some time to come. Instead, the radical Islamist group that won a landslide victory in Wednesday's Palestinian Legislative Council election, taking 76 seats to the 43 of the ruling Fatah party in the 132-seat parliament, will focus on its stated priority of "cleaning the Palestinian house." What this means, concretely, is ridding the Palestinian Authority of rampant corruption, and establishing law and order on the chaotic streets of the West Bank and Gaza. Ironically, that means that a Hamas government, despite its opposition to previous peace efforts...
...some senior leaders believe it may be to their advantage to allow Hamas to take full power, in the expectation that reality will quickly prove the Islamists incapable of governing. Some elements of Fatah may even be inclined to respond violently the outcome, and clashes Thursday outside the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah suggest that there may be more trouble ahead. But Fatah would be foolish to underestimate Hamas' ability to govern: Most of the candidates on their electoral list have post-graduate degrees, and many are experts in various fields of governance. They will certainly be looking to impress...
...cease-fire with Israel. It has no interest in provoking the Israelis, because it is now determined to carry out its promises to the Palestinian electorate-promises that are very much based on local concerns over corruption and lawlessness. Before the election, many commentators had asked whether Hamas' entering parliament with a minority share in power would create pressure for the movement to disarm. Now, the situation is turned on its head: Hamas will appoint its own people to run the Palestinian security services, and will make sure that many of its own militants are now drawn in to those...