After the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, decided to hold early legislative and presidential elections as a way to break the international embargo imposed on the Palestinians, Hamas and Fateh officials remained at odds that could threaten further conflicts between the two movements.
The international embargo was imposed ten months ago, after the Hamas movement won the legislative elections in Palestine.
Hamas rejected US and EU calls to recognize Israel and said that it cannot recognize a country that still occupies Palestine and continues its aggression against the people.
Fateh and Hamas movements, who engaged in violent internal clashes several times, have once again engaged in further armed clashes after Abbas’s call for early elections.
Abbas did not only call for early elections, but also called for presidential elections as well.
Officials of Hamas said that they believe that a National Unity government could be formed and that early elections are rejected since they are “unstudied move” that could worsen the conditions.
Nabil Amro, a Fateh official and media advisor of president Mahmoud Abbas, said that a national unity government should be capable of lifting the siege imposed on the Palestinian people.
Amro added that Hamas, which enjoys a parliamentarian majority, should make a decision regarding the unity government especially since it knows all of the proposals and conditions that should be met in order to form a unity government.
Amro added that preparations for elections have already started, and that all factions should positively deal with the call for new elections.
Hamas media spokesperson, Ghazi Hamad, said that the movement is still interested in arriving to a national unity agreement that sees the birth of a unity government.
Hamad totally rejected Abbas’s call for early elections and said that the elections “are not the magic wand that would solve all of the problems”, adding that the movement will boycott the elections if held.
