RAMALLAH, 19 July 2007 — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday asked the PLO’s Central Council to call for early presidential and parliamentary elections.
“We will call the council to decide early elections without waiting for those (leaders) of Hamas who are staying inside and outside (Palestinian territories),” Abbas said. Abbas, addressing the council, harshly denounced Hamas saying “they dug their graves with their nails” referring to Hamas taking over Gaza by force last June.
Abbas said ahead of the council’s meeting yesterday that he was working toward holding early parliamentary and presidential elections and said there would be no dialogue with Hamas until they ended its violent “coup” in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking to reporters in Ramallah after meeting with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Abbas said the PLO Central Council was expected to endorse the idea during its meeting over the next 24 hours.
Abbas did not say when the elections would be held, but some Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah said the vote could be held before the end of the year.
Abbas’ announcement came amid growing tensions between Fatah and Hamas in the West Bank. Yesterday PA policemen used force to disperse demonstrators in Nablus who were protesting against the arrest of Hamas supporters and activists in the city by Abbas’ security forces.
“When the PLO Central Council takes a decision regarding early elections, I will have the authority to issue a decree calling for holding new elections,” Abbas said.
Even if Abbas calls early elections, it’s unlikely that the vote would also be held in the Gaza Strip. Hamas officials have made it clear that they won’t accept early elections under the current circumstances.
Hamas is planning to convene the Palestinian Legislative Council next Sunday for a vote of confidence on the emergency government of Salam Fayyad. Hamas legislators said they would support a no-confidence motion against Fayyad’s “unconstitutional” government.
The decision to convene the Parliament is seen as a major challenge to Abbas’ authority and is likely to deepen divisions between Fatah and Hamas.
Abbas also hailed US President George W. Bush’s call for an international meeting on the Arab-Israeli conflict later this year, saying the Palestinians had always supported the idea of international peace parleys on the Middle East.
“This conference will help a lot in boosting the peace process,” Abbas added. “Whenever the international community meets, this leads to positive results for the peace process.”
Two journalists who covered the Nablus demonstration complained that PA policemen beat them and broke their cameras. Five demonstrators were arrested.
The protest was organized by a group of women outside the PA prison in the city, where dozens of Hamas supporters are being held.
Hamas legislator Ahmed Al-Haj delivered a speech in which he launched a scathing attack on the PA leadership and security forces.
In response, Fatah gunmen tried to attack him, forcing the legislator to hide in a nearby post office.
In another development, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat yesterday denied a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that the PA wanted the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip to remain closed.
Erekat said that the PA has requested the opening of the border on numerous occasions.
The Rafah border crossing has remained closed since Hamas’ ousting of Fatah from Gaza.
