Palestinian PM: Hamas will not participate in elections
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Staff and Agencies
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh vowed Sunday that his Hamas party will not participate in fresh elections, and branded Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' remarks on the matter "inflammatory."
"The Palestinian government rejects the call for holding early parliamentary elections because it is not constitutional and may lead to a large disturbance in the Palestinian territory," Haniyeh told cabinet members.
Meanwhile, Syria called on the feuding Palestinian factions to exercise restraint and resume negotiations on unity government in the PA.
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The PA chairman called Saturday for new elections for his position and parliament, in a dramatic challenge to the ruling Hamas, and met Sunday with officials from the Palestinian Central Election Commission.
A senior Fatah official said Sunday that the party will ask Abbas to seek re-election as chairman if a new vote is held.
Abbas, 71, has said repeatedly he would not seek another term. He was elected in 2005 to a four-year term, following the death of Yasser Arafat.
Neck and neck A majority of Palestinians favor holding new elections, but Abbas would face a tough race against a contender from Hamas, according to a poll published Sunday.
The survey was conducted by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research among 1,270 Palestinians and had an error margin of 3 percentage points. The questioning was concluded Saturday.
If Abbas were to run against Haniyeh, the most popular Hamas politician, he would win 46 percent of the vote, compared to 45 percent for Haniyeh, according to the poll.
In a contest for parliament, however, Abbas' Fatah movement widened its lead over Hamas, getting 42 percent of the vote, compared to 36 percent for Hamas. In September, Fatah was only ahead by 3 percentage points.
According to the poll, 61 percent of Palestinians favor holding early elections, while only 37 percent are opposed.
Nonetheless, only 48 percent of Palestinians said they think the Hamas-led government should be dissolved, while 47 percent oppose such a move.
The poll revealed that 46 percent of Palestinians support the formation of a national unity government between Fatah and Hamas.
The poll also showed that jailed Fatah militant leader Marwan Barghouti's popularity remains high among the Palestinian public. Asked about a hypothetical election pitting Barghouti against Damascus-based Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal, 56 percent said they would vote for Barghouti, while only 36 percent said they would vote for Meshal.
On Saturday evening, the Fatah Central Committee met at his headquarters to discuss strategy after Abbas announced he would seek early elections.
Fatah legislator Nabil Shaath, a member of the Central Committee, said the group told Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen, that it wants him to run again.
"For sure, Fatah is going to name Abu Mazen as the candidate for the presidential election," Shaath told reporters Sunday. "When we told him, he only laughed."
The Central Committee has the authority to choose the party's candidate for chairman.
Abbas' Sunday meeting with the elections commission came hours after gunmen early Sunday stormed a training camp in the Gaza Strip used by Abbas' Force 17 presidential guard, sparking gunbattles that left one officer dead and several others wounded.
Abbas is to set the date by presidential decree after hearing from the Election Commission on how much time it needs to prepare. His office said he was meeting the commission members Sunday.
His aides had said he would hold the meeting within a week. Abbas' fast pace indicated he is determined to move ahead with the ballotting, even though Hamas has threatened to block the vote
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