Region | Palestinian Territories

Abbas to call snap elections if dialogue fails

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday he would call for elections in 2009 if his secular Fatah movement and its Islamist rivals Hamas do not reconcile by the end of this year.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 15:23 November 23, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • A man cooks for patients in Al Helal Hospital over a wood fire due to a shortage of cooking gas in Gaza City.
  • Image Credit: EPA
Image 1 of 2
12

Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday he would call for elections in 2009 if his secular Fatah movement and its Islamist rivals Hamas do not reconcile by the end of this year.

"If the dialogue does not begin, and if we fail, I will issue a presidential decree early next year calling for simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections," Abbas told members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

He did not name a date. Elections could be held 90 days after his decree, but there was no hint of when that might be.

Hamas quickly rejected Abbas's statement. "It is an illegal and unconstitutional call," said spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. Calling for elections "confirms his absolute intentions to foil the dialogue".

Abbas said Egypt had drafted a reconciliation deal calling for a non-factional government to end the Hamas-Fatah split and prepare for polls. But Hamas walked away from scheduled talks in Cairo before they began.

In Occupied Jerusalem, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak hinted that he might send troops into Gaza to rescue a soldier who has been held captive there for more than two years. Sergeant Gilad Schalit was captured by Hamas in June 2006.

  • Rate this article
  • Average reader rating (0 votes) 0 Stars
Tools

Emailing an article to friend is a simple way to share a news item. Your friend will receive an email with your name and email address as well any personal message you choose to send.

The information you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited emails.

This service is not intended to encourage spam, and action may be taken against individuals who maliciously enter personal details of another individual.

Share this article

More from Palestinian Territories

  1. Israeli lawmaker floats idea of talks with Hamas

  2. Palestinians urge Abbas to stay on

  3. Netanyahu visits US amid Abbas-sparked crisis

  4. Abbas likely to remain influential even if he quits

All articles in Palestinian territories

More from Region

Gulf News
Popular in News
News Editor's choice