Fatah, Hamas disputes escalate after election date set

by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly

Disputes between Gaza Strip ruling Islamic Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party mounted on Sunday after Abbas declared that general presidential and legislative elections will be held in the Palestinian territories on Jan. 24.

According to Abbas, his official decree to set up the date for holding the elections was made without coordination with his bitter rival Hamas movement.

Hamas, which has been ruling Gaza since June 2007, rejected Abbas' decree, saying that Abbas is not "authorized and doesn't have the competence as a legal president to issue such a decree."

Fatah movement said in a statement that it backs Abbas' decree and believes that issuing the decree "is first a constitutional merit," adding that "holding elections on time after Hamas showed no earnest towards achieving reconciliation is the best prescription to end the current split."

Meanwhile, Palestinian observers ruled out the possibility of holding the general Palestinian elections without reaching a reconciliation agreement, as Hamas would reject holding it in the enclave.

Khalil Shahin, a political analyst in the West Bank said that it is impossible to hold the elections only in the West Bank without holding it in the Gaza Strip, adding that "even the factions which support holding the elections rejected holding it amid the current split between Gaza Strip and the West Bank."

"Abbas' decree clearly neglects the conditions for holding the elections, mainly the necessity on agreeing on the electoral law and achieving a national accordance that guarantees the participation of all the Palestinians in the elections without any kind of pressure," said Shahin.

Gaza political analyst Talal Oukal said that Abbas "found himself committed to implement a constitutional merit and issue the decree amid an absence of national accordance."

"I believe that issuing a presidential decree that postpones holding the elections until June 28, 2010 would be legal and accepted because it was made in accordance between Abbas and the factions," said Oukal.

Although Abbas issued the decree and insisted that elections will be held on Jan. 24, he kept the door open for reaching a reconciliation, which gave a gleam of hope to end the current split between Gaza and the West Bank.

"Issuing the decree doesn't mean that Abbas closed the doors for dialogue or for achieving a reconciliation," said Oukal.

The signing on the pact of reconciliation was supposed to take place in Cairo on Sunday. But Egypt, the sponsor of the inter-Palestinian dialogue, had announced that the signing on the pact was postponed until Hamas fully accepts it and sign on it.

"Egypt's rejection to receive any of Hamas leaders unless they come to Cairo for signing, and Abbas' decree that sets up Jan. 24 as a date for holding the election, are just to pressure on Hamas to accept the pact," said Mekhemar Abu Se'da, the political science teacher at al-Azhar University.

Abu Se'da pointed out that Abbas as the president of the Palestinians has the legal and constitutional competences to issue the decree, but he stressed that holding the elections without reaching a reconciliation agreement "would deepen the status of division."

"There are concerns that if there will be no reconciliation until Jan. 24, Hamas may also hold elections for itself in the Gaza Strip, and then the Palestinians will have two presidents and two parliaments," said Abu Se'da.

Source: Xinhua