Hamas blasts Palestine Authority’s call for early polls

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Hamas on Tuesday decried calls by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) to hold Palestinian legislative polls “as soon as possible”, saying such calls were “in violation of past [Hamas-Fatah] reconciliation agreements”.

“All the Palestinian factions have agreed to hold presidential, legislative and National Council elections simultaneously, in line with both the national consensus and Palestinian law,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

“We must first implement what was agreed to before: namely, the holding of comprehensive elections -- presidential, legislative and for the National Council -- based on consensus and overseen by a national unity government,” Qassem said.

On Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked Hanna Nasser, head of the Palestinian Elections Commission, to examine the prospects for holding legislative polls.

He went on to express his “full support” for holding legislative elections “as soon as possible”.

Last December, Abbas vowed to implement a court ruling calling for the dissolution of the Palestinian Legislative Council and fresh parliamentary polls within six months.

Hamas responded by accusing Abbas of “attempting to advance his agenda by wrecking the Palestinian political system, ending political pluralism, and destroying legitimate state institutions”.

The group went on to urge all Palestinian political forces -- and Egypt -- to oppose what it described as attempts by Abbas “to undermine all efforts aimed at achieving inter-Palestinian unity”.