|
The ongoing disagreement between Fatah and Hamas must end. The two factions should stop treating each other as enemies and instead work together to alleviate Palestinian suffering.
The recent call by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for early elections should not be used as a tool of factional fighting. Presidential and parliamentary elections are due only in 2010 - which means that the democratically elected Hamas-led government would continue to be a player in Palestinian politics. But if Abbas issues a decree allowing early elections, then the political landscape could change. According to the Central Elections Committee Secretary-General Rami Al Hamdallah, the "commission is always ready to hold elections within 100 days from the issuance of a presidential decree". It is questionable of course as to whether an early election is feasible or not as yet. It is being said given that Hamas objects to the idea. Furthermore, general elections could surely not take place in the West Bank in complete isolation of Gaza. Elections could not be held only in one area.
Altering the electoral rules, as Abbas has indicated he would carry out through a decree, would only complicate matters. Palestinians now are in need of consensus, not confrontation.
|
