عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Hamas Presses Abbas to Issue Elections Decree

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Reuters)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Hamas Presses Abbas to Issue Elections Decree

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Reuters)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Reuters)

Celebrating the 32nd anniversary of its founding, Hamas said it was ready for Palestinian elections, reconciliation and ending divisions with the Palestinian Authorities in the West Bank.

The Hamas leadership announced at a large public rally in the central Gaza Strip that it had finished forming the preparatory committee for the elections and was ready to participate immediately.

Other than expressing initiative to partake in upcoming elections, the group has been exerting heavy media pressure on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to issue the election decree.

“We are pushing for Palestinian reunification, and we have made dozens of concessions for the sake of the country and for our people to complete reconciliation. And they are ready to appeal to the Palestinian street through the general elections,” said Hamas official Osama Al-Muzaini.

He also stressed the need to reconcile and end all divisions.

Member of the Hamas political bureau, Hussam Badran said that the group has reacted positively to Abbas’ invite to elections.

In a broadcast statement, Badran further pressured the PA head to issue an election decree.

He pointed out that there is a general Palestinian position that desires “guarantees for the freedom of elections and for the recognition of results.”

Separately, PA security forces arrested dozens of Hamas supporters in the West Bank in the past few days.

At least 66 Hamas supporters have been arrested or summoned for interrogation by PA security forces in recent days, according to Hamas spokesman Abdel Rahman Shadid.

Even though Hamas has welcomed Abbas’s initiative, saying it was planning to participate in the upcoming elections Shadid said that the PA campaign against Hamas supporters does not bode well for the prospects of holding a free and fair vote.

Hamas official Hazem Qassem said the crackdown was “a continuation of the Palestinian Authority’s delusion that it can uproot the presence of Hamas in the West Bank.” He urged the PA to halt “this national and moral crime, and create the appropriate atmosphere for free and fair elections.”

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Syria's Wheat War: Drought Fuels Food Crisis for 16 Million

Before the war, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tons annually, but 14 years of conflict crippled production. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
Before the war, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tons annually, but 14 years of conflict crippled production. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
TT
20
TT

Syria's Wheat War: Drought Fuels Food Crisis for 16 Million

Before the war, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tons annually, but 14 years of conflict crippled production. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
Before the war, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tons annually, but 14 years of conflict crippled production. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP

Rival Syrian and Kurdish producers are scrambling for shrinking wheat harvests as the worst drought in decades follows a devastating war, pushing more than 16 million people toward food insecurity.

"The country has not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years," said Haya Abu Assaf, assistant to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in Syria.

Syria's water levels have seen "a very significant drop compared to previous years, which is very worrying", Abu Assaf told AFP, as a relatively short winter rainy season and decreased rainfall take their toll.

"A gap of between 2.5 to 2.7 million tons in the wheat crop is expected, meaning that the wheat quantity will not be sufficient to meet local needs," Abu Assaf said, putting "around 16.3 million people at risk of food insecurity in Syria this year".

Before the civil war erupted in 2011, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tons annually.

Nearly 14 years of conflict have since crippled production and devastated the economy.

The FAO estimates that harsh weather has impacted nearly 2.5 million hectares of wheat-growing land.

"Around 75 percent of the cultivated areas" have been affected, as well as "natural pastures for livestock production", said Abu Assaf.

Imports, competition

To bridge the wheat gap, imports would be essential in a country where around 90 percent of the population lives in poverty.

Before his ouster in an Islamist-led offensive in December, Syria's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad used to rely on ally Russia for wheat.

In April, new authorities reported the first wheat shipment since his removal arrived in Latakia port, with more Russian shipments following.

Iraq also donated more than 220,000 tons of wheat to Syria.

During the war, Damascus competed with the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast to buy wheat from farmers across fertile lands.

Last year, Assad's government priced wheat at $350 per ton, and the Kurds at $310.

After Assad's ouster, Damascus and the Kurds agreed in March to integrate Kurdish-led institutions into the new Syrian state, with negotiations ongoing on implementation.

Damascus set wheat prices this month at between $290 and $320 per ton, depending on the quality, plus a $130 bonus.

The Kurdish-led administration offered $420 per ton including a $70 bonus.

'Poverty and hunger'

Damascus' agriculture ministry expects a harvest of 300,000 to 350,000 tons in government-controlled areas this year.

Hassan Othman, director of the Syrian Grain Establishment, acknowledged Syria was not self-sufficient, in comments on state television.

But he said authorities were working "to ensure food security by importing wheat from abroad and milling it in our mills".

In northeast Syria's Amuda, farmer Jamshid Hassu, 65, inspected the tiny wheat grains from his fields, which cover around 200 hectares (around 500 acres).

Despite heavy irrigation efforts to offset scarce rainfall, he said, production has halved.

The FAO's Abu Assaf said indicators showed that "about 95 percent of rain-fed wheat has been damaged and affected", while irrigated wheat yields were down 30 to 40 percent.

Hassu, who has been farming for four decades, said he had to pump water from depths of more than 160 meters (525 feet) to sustain his crops as groundwater levels plunge.

Agriculture remains a vital income source in rural Syria, but without urgent support, farmers face ruin.

"Without support, we will not be able to continue," Hassu warned.

"People will suffer from poverty and hunger."