The speed with which he moved ahead with his vow to dissolve the Hamas-led PA government and call new elections surprised even his own aides, who predicted the meeting would take place sometime next week.
During his speech on Saturday in which he announced his intentions to form a new government, Abbas promised he would “look into [it] and have discussions with the Central Election Commission to find the earliest possible way to start preparing for this matter.”
The immediacy of Sunday’s meeting was seen as an indication that this time Abbas intends to carry out his threat to call for new elections.
Abbas cannot set a date until the commission informs him of how long it would take to prepare for the balloting. Past PA chief negotiator and senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said, after the speech, that it would be impossible to hold the elections before mid-2007 due to the bureaucratic process.
During his speech, the Fatah chief said the time could be used as an opportunity to make another attempt at forming a unity government. He added, however, that Fatah had no interest in sharing power with Hamas, which has consistently backed out of the talks every time the issue of recognizing the State of Israel is raised.
Erekat praised Abbas’s decision as one which would help keep the peace in the battle-weary Gaza Strip. “I think today Abu Mazen (Abbas’s nom de guerre) made history. I think he saved his people from the prospect of civil war.” He added, “We have a crisis. We have an authority with two heads. So what do we do? Bullets or ballots? Abu Mazen said ballots.”
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During his speech on Saturday in which he announced his intentions to form a new government, Abbas promised he would “look into [it] and have discussions with the Central Election Commission to find the earliest possible way to start preparing for this matter.”
The immediacy of Sunday’s meeting was seen as an indication that this time Abbas intends to carry out his threat to call for new elections.
Abbas cannot set a date until the commission informs him of how long it would take to prepare for the balloting. Past PA chief negotiator and senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said, after the speech, that it would be impossible to hold the elections before mid-2007 due to the bureaucratic process.
During his speech, the Fatah chief said the time could be used as an opportunity to make another attempt at forming a unity government. He added, however, that Fatah had no interest in sharing power with Hamas, which has consistently backed out of the talks every time the issue of recognizing the State of Israel is raised.
Erekat praised Abbas’s decision as one which would help keep the peace in the battle-weary Gaza Strip. “I think today Abu Mazen (Abbas’s nom de guerre) made history. I think he saved his people from the prospect of civil war.” He added, “We have a crisis. We have an authority with two heads. So what do we do? Bullets or ballots? Abu Mazen said ballots.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throughout the year, Arutz-7 gives you the news
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This Chanukah, we ask our readers to give back.
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or call-in to our live radio Arutz Shevathon
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