Palestinian factions mull next steps after Abbas calls off elections
Various Palestinian factions, including Hamas, have rejected President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to postpone the legislative elections and his call to form a unity government.
Palestinians are still recovering from President Mahmoud Abbas' decision April 29 to postpone the legislative elections that were slated for May 22. The Palestinian factions have begun talking about new consultations to get out of the legal and political crisis, without any clear vision of what the next phase will be, amid fears that mutual accusations between Fatah and Hamas will resume and that reconciliation hopes will dissipate.
In a radio interview broadcast May 2, Abbas’ spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said the formation of a national unity government is one of the measures expected for the upcoming period after the postponement of elections, in addition to the strengthening of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the possibility of convening the PLO’s Central Council to draft specific policies.
Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the PLO’s Executive Committee, told Al-Ayyam newspaper May 1 that contacts with various factions would begin in a bid to form a consensus government.
However, Mousa Abu Marzouk, the deputy head of Hamas abroad, told the Quds News Network on May 2 that Hamas would not agree to form a government without elections.
