Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasReuters

The Fatah Central Committee recommended, at a meeting chaired by Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, that a new Palestinian government be formed, which would include representatives of the PLO-affiliated organizations and independent figures.

In the diplomatic sphere, the Central Committee reiterated its adherence to the Palestinian national principles, especially the "issue of Jerusalem, the refugees, the establishment of a just and lasting peace based on international legitimacy resolutions and the principle of resistance to a Palestinian state without Jerusalem and without Gaza."

The Central Committee called upon the Hamas movement to respond positively to Abbas’ call to hold parliamentary elections as soon as possible so that the Palestinian people would elect its leadership.

Last month, Abbas announced he intended to dissolve the largely defunct Palestinian “parliament”, which is controlled by Hamas, following a court decision ordering the move.

Hamas later denounced Abbas' plan, calling it a move to "serve his partisan interests."

The PA parliament has not met since 2007, when Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza from Abbas’ Fatah faction, but PA law allows for its speaker to act as interim president should 83-year-old Abbas die in office.

Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since the 2007 coup and all attempts to reconcile the warring sides have failed.

Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation deal last October, under which the PA was to have resumed full control of Gaza by December of that year.

That deadline was initially put back by 10 days and had later reportedly hit “obstacles”. It has never been implemented and is one of many attempts that have failed over the years to ease the tensions between the two groups.

Egypt has been seeking to reconcile Hamas and Fatah, but a range of issues have kept the two sides apart, including Hamas's refusal to disarm its so-called “military wing”.

Abbas' term as PA chairman was meant to expire in 2009, but he has remained in office in the absence of elections.