Abbas declares elections in Palestinian territories with or without Hamas agreement.

Hamas and Fatah have so far been unable to iron out their differences. Abbas may be making the election call to pressure Hamas into an agreement. Without an agreement with Hamas it is not clear how any election could take place in Gaza which they control. Hamas insists that there can be no election until there is an agreement. As long as the Palestinians are divided there is less pressure on Israel to negotiate a peace settlement. Even though Abbas is much more moderate than Hamas he has so far not been able to get anywhere and is losing credibility among many Palestinians especially after he held up the Goldstone Report and then when this generated a huge backlash he changed course quickly.

Abbas decrees elections, with or without Hamas

Palestinian president decrees elections for January, with or without unity deal with Hamas

BEN HUBBARD

Hamas criticized the announcement, deepening the rift between the Islamic group and Abbas' secular Fatah movement, which have led dueling governments in Gaza and the West Bank for the past two years. The split has complicated efforts at Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.

The decision to hold balloting in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza satisfies a legal requirement that Abbas decree elections, but binds him to a vote that many see as unlikely to happen, given Hamas opposition.

Abbas said Palestinian law required him to decree elections for January after Hamas rejected a unity deal that would have postponed elections until June.

.....But he did not say how his Palestinian Authority would apply the decree, which he signed Friday, outside the West Bank, the only territory where it holds sway. Although Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for state, Israel annexed the territory in 1967 after capturing it and would need to approve voting there.

Abbas would face a similar obstacle in Gaza, which Hamas seized by force in 2007.

......On Saturday, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called Abbas' election decree "unconstitutional and illegal" and said elections cannot be held with without reconciliation.

.....Hamas' Damascus-based leadership and seven other Syria-based radical Palestinian factions also rejected the decree on Saturday, saying it would deepen internal divisions.

"We condemn this step and consider it illegal and unlawful," Hamas' top leader, Khaled Mashaal, told reporters. "Reconciliation first and then we go to elections."

Under Palestinian law, the election results would be legitimate even if Gazans weren't allowed to participate as long as representatives from Gaza were to appear on ballots.

..."Abu MazenAbu Mazen wants to make Hamas come back to the Palestinian political scene, but he wants them to do so after recognizing his legitimacy and leadership, not as competitors and opposition," Masri said, referring to Abbas by his nickname.

Palestinian legislative elections were last held in 2006, when Hamas won a majority.

......"The door of reconciliation with our brothers in Hamas is open and we won't close it until the last moment," said leading Fatah member Jibril Rajoub.

Other say elections can only realistically be held after a unity agreement.

"Any real action that is taken by the Palestinians has to be done under an agreement," said Fatah member Qadoura Faris. "Without that, nothing can be done."