Jerusalem
24 October 2009
 |
| Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (File) |
The Palestinian Authority has announced a date for elections, throwing
a wrench into national unity talks with its Islamic militant rivals.
Western-backed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed a decree that presidential
and parliamentary elections will take place on January 24. But the
announcement only deepened Palestinian divisions.
The vote is
supposed to take place in the West Bank, which is controlled by Mr.
Abbas, and the Gaza Strip which is ruled by its rival faction Hamas.
But Hamas quickly rejected the call for elections, saying it is illegal
and unconstitutional.
Senior Hamas official Ahmad Bahar told a
news conference in Gaza that Mr. Abbas's rule is illegitimate and he
has no authority to declare elections. He said Mr. Abbas should be put
on trial "for impersonating a president."
Hamas routed Mr.
Abbas's Fatah forces in the Palestinian civil war in Gaza in 2007 and
seized control of Gaza; since then, the two factions have been at
loggerheads. Mr. Abbas now heads a more moderate Palestinian government
in the West Bank that supports the peace process with Israel.
Speaking to Fatah members in the West Bank town of Ramallah, President Abbas took his own swipe at Hamas.
Hamas
describes my government as illegitimate, he said. But Hamas is the one
that seized power in a coup. Mr. Abbas said that is illegal and
illegitimate. He said he is required by the Palestinian constitution to
hold elections in January.
The Palestinian divisions pose a
major obstacle to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank
and Gaza, which is the stated goal of the peace process sponsored by
the United States. Hamas refuses to renounce violence or recognize
Israel, and Israel says as long as the group rules Gaza, there cannot
be a Palestinian state.
Egypt has tried to overcome this
obstacle by sponsoring reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah.
But as one Hamas official put it: Mr. Abbas has dealt a "lethal blow to
reconciliation."