Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced this week that the PA will hold elections in the near future, a step demanded by Hamas heads in Gaza, who say Abbas' term is up in January. On Wednesday, Abbas made similar remarks following a meeting with Austrian President Heinz Fischer, but this time he made it clear that Gaza would be expected to hold democratic elections as well.
Gaza Arabs are an inseparable part of the PA voting public, Abbas said. “We don't want elections in the West Bank [Judea and Samaria—ed.] without the participation of the Gaza Strip,” he explained.
Abbas' Fatah group and the rival Hamas ruled the PA together until mid-2007, when Hamas took over Gaza in a violent coup. Attempts to reconcile the two terror groups have failed.
Elections in which all PA Arabs take part will allow for national unity, Abbas said. But he aslo slammed Hamas, calling the group's control of Gaza “a rebellion.”
Polls conducted by PA organizations among PA Arab voters in Gaza, Judea and Samaria show Abbas with 23.8 percent of the vote, maintaining a small lead over Gaza's Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh, who is expected to get 19.7 percent. Fatah is predicted to fare better than its leader in PA elections, with pollsters saying the group will get 36.8 percent of the vote to Hamas' 19.5 percent.
Abbas and Fischer both expressed support for the temporary ceasefire in Gaza, under which Hamas has agreed to stop rocket fire on Israeli towns while the IDF has committed not to resume counterterrorism operations in the area except in case of immediate threat. While Gaza terrorists have fired hundreds of rockets and mortar shells at Israeli towns and IDF positions despite the ceasefire, Israel has refrained from any major counterterrorist operations.
The ceasefire has been effective in protecting Gaza Arabs, Abbas said. Fischer said the ceasefire must continue “for the sake of Palestinians and for the success of the peace agreement.”
Abbas thanked Fischer for his visit and asked him to help open Gaza borders, pressure Israel to remove Israeli citizens from Judea and Samaria and push for the release of 11,000 terrorists held in Israeli prisons.