Hamas Willing To Reconcile With Fatah And Hold Elections

The Islamist Hamas movement, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, announced it is ready to dissolve the administration it had established in recent months to manage the affairs of Gaza, hold general elections and immediately begin direct reconciliation talks with the rival Fatah movement headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. In a statement, Hamas said the decision was a response to Egyptian efforts at reconciliation, and called on Palestinian government ministers in Ramallah to come to Gaza and “fully assume their roles.” Previous efforts to heal the rift between Fatah, which controls the West Bank, and Hamas, which the US and Israel see as a terrorist organization, have failed. But this time, the announcement comes just before Abbas leaves for New York for the UN General Assembly, where he will meet President Trump. A senior Fatah official, Mahmoud Aloul, welcomed Hamas’ position calling it a positive sign, and saying that the Fatah movement is ready to implement reconciliation. Hamas is under growing financial pressure as Egypt has destroyed many of the smuggling tunnels Hamas used previously, and Abbas has turned up the screws on the rival Hamas by refusing to pay for electricity in Gaza, and cutting salaries for civil servants. Polls show that the majority of Palestinians favor what they call “national reconciliation” between the different factions, which is seen as a prerequisite for elections. Palestinian elections are long overdue and Abbas is in the 12^th year of a four-year term.