Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh
Hamas leader Ismail HaniyehFlash 90

Hamas is not pleased with the 2015 elections results, which saw Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu re-elected and the Likud party with a record 30 seats that will likely lead to a right-wing government.

"The regional, international, and Zionist developments teach us that the future carries hope for people of principles," Ismail Haniyeh, deputy head of Hamas' political bureau and former head of the Hamas government, said on Thursday. 

Haniyeh said that Hamas was not surprised by the results of the elections, stressing the need for "formulating a strategy based on adherence to Palestinian rights, through struggle, application of the unity government [with the Palestinian Authority - ed.] and the end of general appeasement." 

In this context, Haniyeh said the split between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) must come to an end through the implementation of the reconciliation agreement signed between Fatah and Hamas, and he called for presidential elections, as well as for parliament and the Palestinian National Council to convene the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leadership.

"How is it possible that the (PLO) leadership did not meet before the last war, which lasted 51 days in a row, during, and after," Haniyeh wondered. "It's time to march ahead, to be serious and true in plotting a national strategy, and this will be the response to the Israeli elections, Israeli arrogance  and Israeli plans in Jerusalem, the West Bank [Judea-Samaria - ed.] and Gaza and everywhere else." 

Calls for reconciliation surface after documents were leaked earlier this month revealing talks between Hamas and Israel for a five-year ceasefire - as well as a pledge to cement the unity government with Fatah, which has been teetering on the brink of collapse. 

This past week, the PA’s security services launched a crackdown on Hamas members in Judea and Samaria, arresting more than 100 members of Hamas in Ramallah, Hevron, Tulkarm and other cities.

Despite the unity agreement, the PA has continuously arrested members of Hamas in the PA-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria.

The reconciliation attempt has been rocked by tensions, most notably Hamas's attempt to stage a violent coup in Judea and Samaria against the Palestinian Authority.

The sides have most recently quarreled over the PA’s refusal to take responsibility for the wages of employees from the former-Hamas run government, a key Hamas demand.