Palestinian Officials Accuse Hamas of Obstructing Elections

People hold a candlelight vigil for Maher al-Akhras, a Palestinian on hunger strike in Israeli jail. (EPA)
People hold a candlelight vigil for Maher al-Akhras, a Palestinian on hunger strike in Israeli jail. (EPA)
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Palestinian Officials Accuse Hamas of Obstructing Elections

People hold a candlelight vigil for Maher al-Akhras, a Palestinian on hunger strike in Israeli jail. (EPA)
People hold a candlelight vigil for Maher al-Akhras, a Palestinian on hunger strike in Israeli jail. (EPA)

The Hamas movement seems to have an internal problem that is preventing it from completing the internal reconciliation process, said a Palestinian official.

Member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee Saleh Raafat confirmed that the movement, which runs the coastal Gaza Strip, has not yet officially replied to a proposal to hold general elections throughout Palestinian territories.

He hoped that Hamas would agree to holding the polls so that President Mahmoud Abbas would issue a decree setting the date for the elections in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

“Hamas has new demands on the reconciliation issue, elections and employees, which the government has been working on equally between the West Bank and Gaza,” he was quoted as saying by the official news agency (WAFA).

“It is obvious that Hamas has a problem with the reconciliation and the elections,” he continued.

Raafat’s remarks explain why Abbas has delayed his presidential decree even though both Fatah and Hamas and the rest of the Palestinian factions announced their agreement to hold the elections.

Fatah and Hamas had agreed in Istanbul in September to first hold the general elections, then presidential polls, followed by the election of the PLO national council. All elections are supposed to be held within six months.

Fatah central committee member Rawhi Fattouh said the members have unanimously agreed on the outcomes of the Istanbul meeting and are awaiting the approval of the Hamas politburo.

All of the outstanding issues will be resolved after the elections, he stressed, noting that the delay does not serve the interest of any party.

He speculated that some official in Gaza were opposed to the reconciliation, hinting that the elections may be obstructed for personal gain.

The last Palestinian general elections were held in 2006.



6 Killed in Israeli Drone Strike in Lebanon Near Eastern Border with Syria

Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP)
Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP)
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6 Killed in Israeli Drone Strike in Lebanon Near Eastern Border with Syria

Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP)
Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP)

Six people were killed and two injured in Lebanon on Saturday in an Israeli drone strike in the area of Janata near the eastern border with Syria, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it struck “Hezbollah operatives” who “were operating in a strategic weapons manufacturing and storage site” belonging to the group.

Israel has continued to launch near-daily strikes on what it says are Hezbollah facilities in Lebanon since the implementation of a ceasefire agreement in late November that ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

The ceasefire document stipulates that both Israel and Lebanon maintain the right to act in “self defense” but does not define what qualifies as self defense.

The original 60-day deadline for implementing the terms of the ceasefire agreement expired in late January, but Lebanon and Israel agreed to extend it until Feb. 18.