Hamas agrees to hold elections in Palestine

Ramallah, Jan 5 (IANS) A senior Hamas official said the Islamic movement has agreed to hold general elections in the Palestinian territories after four countries have guaranteed the success of the polls.

The guarantees were given by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Russia, Xinhua news agency quoted Taher al-Nono, an aide to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, as saying in a statement on Monday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas earlier said he had received a letter from Haniyeh on ending the dispute between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah.

"Haniyeh's letter to President Abbas to hold the elections came as a step to achieve partnership and unity of the Palestinian institution on three levels: legislative, presidential, and the National Council," al-Nono said.

He revealed that Hana Nasser, chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission, will soon visit Gaza to prepare and negotiate a mechanism for the elections.

On Sunday, Haniyeh said in a televised speech that Hamas and Fatah had put an end to their dispute over the general elections, adding the movement was ready to participate in the legislative and presidential elections.

After Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, an internal political and geographical division over administrative, financial and security issues has remained between the two sides despite a series of Arab and international mediations.

In March 2018, then Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah survived an explosion when his convoy entered Gaza, an incident that was blamed on Hamas.

Despite a history of strife, Fatah and Hamas recently announced their agreement to put differences aside.