The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, stated that the decision of the government of Dr. Salam Fayyad in the West Bank regarding holding local councils elections is unconstitutional, and leads to further divisions. The government of Dr. Fayyad decided that local council elections would be held on July 17 2010.
Hasan Abu Hashish, head of the Media Office of the Hamas government in Gaza, stated that “any elections without a comprehensive agreement and political freedoms will not be accepted”.
Abu Hashish also stated that such elections would be fraudulent, and will not represent the Palestinian people.
“Only factions represented in the Palestinian Liberation Origination will likely participate,’ he said. “Those factions, according to the previous elections results, are a minority.”
Abu Hashish further stated that “trying to force the elections on the people, under the protection of the occupation, is illegal.”
He said that the government of Ramallah does not rule Gaza, and cannot implement its decision in the Gaza Strip.
“The government of Fayyad is still holding security co-operation with Israel,” Abu Hashish said. “We believe that elections should be held to serve the Palestinian interests.’
“Ending internal divisions and achieving reconciliation is the key,” he continued. “We believe in the democratic choice to serve the interests of the people.”
