Islamic Hamas movement on Wednesday rejected a proposal of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to hold the Palestinian legislative council elections in the West Bank only.
Salah al-Bardaweel, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, told Xinhua that any elections that are not held in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip "would devote to internal division and is against our national interests."
Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip since it violently seized control of the enclave in June 2007, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party, failed to end division and achieve full reconciliation due to deep differences.
"What is needed now is to reactivate the efforts of reconciliation and the parliament, or Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), to end division and prepare for holding elections in all the Palestinian territories.
Earlier, Fayyad, the premier of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) government in the West Bank, had proposed to hold the legislative elections in the West Bank only, after Hamas rejected to hold it in the Gaza Strip.
According to Fayyad, candidates from the Gaza Strip can run in the legislative elections, but residents of the enclave won't be able to vote because Hamas is against holding the elections in the Gaza Strip.
However, Fayyad ruled out holding presidential elections in the West Bank, because the elected president won't get enough Palestinian consensus if the Gaza Strip, as part of the Palestinian territories, is excluded.
Hamas-Fatah reconciliation dialogue has stopped after Hamas movement, which ruled the Gaza Strip, suddenly decided in July to suspend the registration of voters and updating electoral record in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Fatah party was reserved to the proposal of Fayyad, which was an idea to overcome Hamas rejection of holding the elections in the Gaza Strip. Fayyad said that such a proposal would speed up ending the internal division.
Mahmoud al-Alool, Fatah central committee member, told Xinhua that Fayyad's proposal "is not an urgent issue in this stage of time," adding "Fatah hasn't lost the hope at all to achieve reconciliation and end the division."http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-08/09/c_131771461.htm
Front Page Features