Thaindian News

Ramallah, Oct 2 (IANS) President Mahmoud Abbas will soon propose to the Islamic Hamas Movement to hold early presidential and parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories, an official said Sunday.

Jamal Mheisen, member of Abbas’ Fatah Party’s Central Committee, told the “Voice of Palestine” radio that the idea of holding early elections “aims to get the Palestinian people out of the crisis of internal division”, Xinhua reported.

He revealed that Abbas has instructed to Fatah central committee members to prepare soon for a meeting with the Hamas leadership in Cairo to present the proposal for early elections.

On May 4, Abbas and Hamas leaders signed in Cairo an Egyptian-brokered pact of reconciliation. The pact wasn’t implemented due to deep internal and political differences between the two sides.

One of the major differences was the nomination of the new premier of the one-year unity government that would prepare for holding the general elections.

“President Abbas’ proposal is aimed at achieving accordance in order to overcome all differences and disputes that obstruct the implementation of Cairo agreement,” said Mheisen.

He revealed that Fatah and Hamas officials are currently keeping contacts on holding a bilateral meeting that might be held in mid-October to preview all the outstanding issues and debate Abbas’ proposal.

Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told Xinhua that Hamas sticks to the principle that holding the elections is a mean of exchanging authorities, adding that “we wait to present the proposal on the table instead of presenting it to the media.”

“The Fatah movement is requested to respect the reconciliation agreement that was signed in Cairo and to implement it instead of escaping from it,” said Abu Zuhri, adding that Fatah “turned its back to the agreement.”

The Palestinian internal division between Fatah and Hamas began when the Islamic movement seized the control of the Gaza Strip by force in June 2007 and routed President Abbas’ security forces.