Abbas says he may call early election

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday said he would call new elections early next year if the rival Hamas movement does not open reconciliation talks with him - an ultimatum that threatened to deepen the rift that has left the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under separate rulers.

Hamas immediately rejected the call, which was widely seen as an effort to pressure the Islamic militant group and pave the way for Abbas to extend his term by at least another year.

While the Palestinians hope to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza, the two areas have lived under rival leaderships since Hamas violently seized control of Gaza in June 2007. Gaza and the West Bank are located on opposite sides of Israel.

Abbas, who controls only the West Bank, enjoys backing from the international community, while the Hamas government in Gaza is deeply isolated. Repeated attempts at reconciliation have failed, most recently this month when Hamas abruptly canceled its participation in Egyptian-mediated unity talks in Cairo.

"We will wait until the beginning of next year, and if the national reconciliation talks have not started, I will issue a presidential decree calling this election," Abbas told leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is dominated by his Fatah movement.

Abbas said he would call elections both for the presidency and to replace the Hamas-dominated legislature.

The threat addressed a simmering dispute that has been looming over Abbas for some time. Hamas believes his term in office ends on Jan 9, while Abbas says he has another year in office.

The dispute is rooted in contradictory Palestinian election law. Abbas was elected to a four-year term in January 2005 after the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died, meaning his term would end in January. But the law also says presidential and parliamentary elections are supposed to be held together. The next parliamentary vote is scheduled in January 2010.

Call rejected

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Abbas was merely maneuvering to stay in office and to continue his talks with Israel. Hamas rejects the negotiations.

"This call by the president reflects his real intention, that he wants the national conciliation talks only to extend his term. So if he cannot achieve this through talks, he wants to get it through pressure by calling for elections," Barhoum said.

Abbas set no date for the election, but it is unlikely Hamas will accept anything ahead of schedule. The militant group is already running a triumphant daily countdown to the end of Abbas' term on its television station and has said it will not recognize his authority after Jan 9.

It is unclear whether elections would unify the Palestinians or deepen the divisions.

A vote could potentially strengthen moderates like Abbas, who is holding peace talks with Israel. Or they might be a repeat of a 2006 contest that saw Hamas win a surprise victory, beginning a violent process that led to Hamas' takeover of Gaza the following year.

Dominated by Hamas, the legislature has not functioned since mid-2006, when Israel rounded up Hamas lawmakers after the group seized an Israeli soldier and killed two others in a raid across the Israel-Gaza border. The body was then further sidelined after the Gaza takeover, when Abbas consolidated his power in the West Bank.

Agencies

(China Daily 11/24/2008 page7)