GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Just two days after President Mahmoud Abbas decided Dec. 12 to strip five members of parliament in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), including dismissed Fatah leader and parliamentarian Mohammed Dahlan, from their parliamentary immunity in preparation for their prosecution on charges of misappropriation of funds and trade of weapons, the Palestinian Corruption Crimes Court issued a judgment in absentia against Dahlan on charges of embezzlement and sentenced him to three years in prison and a $16 million fine.

The court’s decision came as no surprise to many in the Palestinian street, in light of the exacerbating struggle between Abbas and his rival Dahlan. The dispute surfaced after the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in 2004, when Dahlan — a high-level Fatah official back then — and Abbas exchanged accusations of assassination, collaboration and corruption.

The judgment further inflamed the already heated feud between the two men, prompting Dahlan to reject this sudden judgment in a press statement Dec. 14 to Amad news website, which is close to Dahlan, and to call for an impartial national commission of inquiry to examine the charges leveled by the Corruption Crimes Court, noting that he will accept any decisions to be taken against him by the commission.

Also on Dec. 14, Dahlan accused Abbas from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through various media outlets of embezzling $6 million from a $20 million donation deposited in one of the Palestinian banks by an Arab country, initially allocated to the Palestinian security services for the purchase of equipment, back when Dahlan served as Abbas' national security adviser in 2007-2008.