RAMALLAH, Feb 13: The outgoing Palestinian parliament boosted President Mahmoud Abbas’s powers on Monday in what Hamas said was a last-minute bid to keep the group in check after its sweeping election win.

In a final act before ceding to a newly elected Hamas-led parliament on Saturday, members of Abbas’s Fatah party approved an amendment to an existing law which will give Abbas the authority to appoint judges to the Palestinian constitutional court without seeking legislative approval.

Preparing to take the reins of power, Hamas said it would try to overturn the vote. Judges appointed by Abbas to the court could be asked to decide whether laws approved by a Hamas-led parliament are constitutional.

Earlier in Gaza, Hamas said it had chosen one of its leaders to be the next Palestinian prime minister, but refused to name him and said it was poised for formal talks with other factions on forming a national unity government.

In a flare-up in violence, Israeli soldiers killed a 25-year-old Palestinian woman in southern Gaza, Palestinian officials said.

An Israeli military source said the soldiers fired warning shots after spotting two suspicious figures heading toward a patrol, but did not say whether a woman was struck. Abbas’s long-dominant Fatah faction was trounced in the Jan. 25 parliamentary election by Hamas, which is dedicated to Israel’s destruction and popular among Palestinians for its anti-corruption reputation.

A Hamas prime minister could complicate any Middle East peace efforts because Israel and the United States have said they will not talk with members of the group until it renounces violence and recognizes Israel.

Abbas, a moderate who advocates peace with Israel, has good relations with Washington and would be expected to take the lead in any future peace negotiations.

The new law was approved by a vote of 41 to 3 with one abstention, despite protests from Hamas members in attendance as observers before they are sworn in.

Some of Hamas’s newly elected parliamentarians shouted at Fatah lawmakers after the vote, accusing them of overstepping their authority and trying to undo the election.—Reuters