Hamas talks local elections
Hamas is aware that, according to polls, if elections were held at the broader level today, its leader Ismail Haniyeh would likely win by a large margin over Mahmoud Abbas, given the growing discontent with the rule of the latter.
Hamas, the terror group ruling over the Gaza Strip, organised on Monday a broad “consultative meeting” to discuss local elections in the Palestinian enclave. The meeting was attended by dozens of political and civil figures, to emphasise the importance of the step, according to the Hamas-affiliated Shehab news website.
Hamas indicated it viewed it as a prelude to holding general elections throughout the Palestinian territories in Gaza and the West Bank, as it has demanded repeatedly in the past years – most recently in a reconciliation meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt.
“These elections will be an important and pivotal step to build towards a larger national consensus, and consolidate the unity of the Palestinian people and their lands,” Zakaria Abu Muammar, head of Hamas’s National Relations Office, declared at the meeting.
He stressed that “local elections are a substitute for the national ones that were cancelled”, referencing the parliamentary elections that Abbas called off in April 2021. “Ever since, we have been in consultation with all factions, and reached an agreement [for local elections] that reflects the general national position.”
Hamas is aware that, according to polls, if elections were held at the broader level today, its leader Ismail Haniyeh would likely win by a large margin over Mahmoud Abbas, given the growing discontent with the rule of the latter.
Abbas has slowly ceded to domestic and external pressures to increase democratic participation within the PA and put an end to what one of his former aides described as “a culture of decrees”, whereby Abbas makes political decisions in the West Bank by autocratic ruling and without popular consultation.
In a further potential move to curry popular demand, rumours were published last week that Abbas was considering a possible government reshuffle and the appointment of a new prime minister, to replace the incumbent Muhammad Shtayyeh, for whom support had been dwindling.
These local developments have taken place while Abbas has been occupied with broader regional issues away from home. Since Sunday, Abbas has been in the coastal Egyptian city of El-Alamein, attending a tripartite summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
Palestinian sources quoted by Haaretz claimed the three leaders will also seek to coordinate a response to the ongoing talks between the United States and Saudi Arabia regarding a possible normalisation deal with Israel.
Abbas is reportedly trying to formulate a single message to convey that any deal must involve significant steps toward the Palestinians, according to Haaretz.
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