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| Hamas signals readiness to end Fatah feud and hold Palestinian elections | Hamas signals readiness to end Fatah feud and hold Palestinian elections |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Hamas has agreed to hold talks with the rival Fatah movement, dissolve the Gaza administrative committee and hold general elections in a deal to end their long-running feud in the Palestinian territories, the group said in a statement early on Sunday. | Hamas has agreed to hold talks with the rival Fatah movement, dissolve the Gaza administrative committee and hold general elections in a deal to end their long-running feud in the Palestinian territories, the group said in a statement early on Sunday. |
| Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s western-backed Palestine Authority, which is controlled by Fatah, fought a war with Hamas over Gaza in 2007, which led to Hamas taking over. | Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s western-backed Palestine Authority, which is controlled by Fatah, fought a war with Hamas over Gaza in 2007, which led to Hamas taking over. |
| Attempts to reconcile the two and form a power-sharing unity government in Gaza and the West Bank have so far failed. | Attempts to reconcile the two and form a power-sharing unity government in Gaza and the West Bank have so far failed. |
| A senior Fatah leader, Mahmoud Aloul, welcomed the pledge but told Voice of Palestine radio on Sunday: “We want to see that happening on the ground before we move to the next step.” | |
| Hamas said in its statement it agreed to dissolve the administration running Gaza, allow the reconciliation government to carry out its duties in the territory, to hold elections and enter into talks with Fatah. | Hamas said in its statement it agreed to dissolve the administration running Gaza, allow the reconciliation government to carry out its duties in the territory, to hold elections and enter into talks with Fatah. |
| Egypt has been brokering talks with Abbas’s Fatah group to implement a deal signed in 2011 in Cairo with Islamist Hamas to end its dispute and form an interim government before elections. | Egypt has been brokering talks with Abbas’s Fatah group to implement a deal signed in 2011 in Cairo with Islamist Hamas to end its dispute and form an interim government before elections. |
| In July this year it emerged Gaza’s Hamas movement was seeking a rapprochement with the Palestinian leader once regarded as its greatest enemy, as the Islamist group faces unprecedented challenges from all sides. | In July this year it emerged Gaza’s Hamas movement was seeking a rapprochement with the Palestinian leader once regarded as its greatest enemy, as the Islamist group faces unprecedented challenges from all sides. |
| Hamas’s leadership held talks with Mohammed Dahlan – the exiled former Fatah leader in Gaza whose supporters Hamas defeated when it wrested control of the territory in the 2007 civil war – amid hopes he could persuade Egypt to come to the aid of Gazans struggling under the decade-long Israeli-led blockade. | Hamas’s leadership held talks with Mohammed Dahlan – the exiled former Fatah leader in Gaza whose supporters Hamas defeated when it wrested control of the territory in the 2007 civil war – amid hopes he could persuade Egypt to come to the aid of Gazans struggling under the decade-long Israeli-led blockade. |
| Hamas’s position has been weakened by developments in the region, including Saudi-led moves against Qatar, once a major financial contributor to Gaza. | Hamas’s position has been weakened by developments in the region, including Saudi-led moves against Qatar, once a major financial contributor to Gaza. |
| Hamas is also under further pressure from an aggressive policy from Abbas, who governs in the West Bank, and who in June asked Israel to substantially cut its electricity supply to Gaza’s 2 million residents. | Hamas is also under further pressure from an aggressive policy from Abbas, who governs in the West Bank, and who in June asked Israel to substantially cut its electricity supply to Gaza’s 2 million residents. |
| The electricity crisis, aimed at forcing Hamas to return the territory to the Palestinian Authority’s control, comes on top of Gaza’s many other woes. Abbas has also cut the salaries of thousands of former PA employees, many his supporters, who he had instructed not to work for the Hamas government. | The electricity crisis, aimed at forcing Hamas to return the territory to the Palestinian Authority’s control, comes on top of Gaza’s many other woes. Abbas has also cut the salaries of thousands of former PA employees, many his supporters, who he had instructed not to work for the Hamas government. |
| Israel’s increasing restrictions on exit permits for Gaza residents, an escalating sewage crisis that is contaminating the strip’s beaches, and high levels of unemployment, are all contributing to a mounting sense of exhaustion in the strip. | Israel’s increasing restrictions on exit permits for Gaza residents, an escalating sewage crisis that is contaminating the strip’s beaches, and high levels of unemployment, are all contributing to a mounting sense of exhaustion in the strip. |
| Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report |