Al Fatah and Hamas, the two rival Palestinian factions, appear to have reached an accord today to hold inter-Palestinian elections in May for the formation of a provisional government.This should be preceded by the resignation of the current Prime Minister of the Palestine National Authority, (PNA), Salam Fayyad. The story was revealed to Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper by Azzam al-Ahmad, one of the Al Fatah negotiators.
There is yet to be official confirmation of the news, and this may not come until the last word is spoken by the leaders of the two rival formations: Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Khaled Meshaal of Hamas – at their next meeting, which several sources say will be in Cairo next week.
Last May Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation accord which has yet to come into force, following four years of division.This began when Hamas used force of arms to take control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. And so the head of Fayyad – who is widely respected as the author of the West Bank’s economic rebirth – is destined to roll due to Hamas accusations that he favoured the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Yesterday, Fayyad reaffirmed from Ramallah that he was willing to step aside in the interests of Palestinian unity.
Source: Mideast: PNA source, Fatah-Hamas agree on May election – Palestinian N.A. – ANSAMED.info.
