Hamas says ‘promising’ chances for deal on Palestinian elections

Hamas terror chief Ismail Haniyeh says he has received a letter from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcoming Hamas’s initiative to advance Palestinian national elections.

“We are on the brink of a new and promising stage for achieving an agreement,” Haniyeh says.

Palestinians have not held national elections since 2006. Many previous announcements of upcoming Palestinian elections have flopped due to differences between Abbas’s Fatah movement and its arch-rival Hamas.

Abbas’ office announced over the weekend that he had received a letter from Haniyeh regarding potential Palestinian elections, adding that he had decided to meet with Palestinian election commissioner Hanna Naser to discuss election logistics.

The two major Palestinian factions have been divided since 2007, when Fatah and Hamas fought a bitter struggle for control of the Gaza Strip.

— Aaron Boxerman