Rival groups within the ruling Palestinian party Fatah agreed yesterday to cooperate as closely as possible, despite their differences, to defeat Hamas in parliamentary elections in January. The split in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbasâ Fatah between veteran leaders and a young guard has boosted Hamas ahead of the Jan. 25 election, worrying Israel, the United States and the European Union.Officials from both Fatah camps said they agreed not to put up rival candidates for the 50 percent of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council that are determined by voting in different districts. They also said they would try to get permission from electoral authorities to merge two rival candidate lists that have already been presented for the other half of the seats, where voters choose a party rather than an individual. If permission to merge is rejected â and an electoral commission official said it would be â they will retain the two lists but will still work together as much as possible. âThe two lists have agreed to coordinate their efforts to support Fatah candidates in the districts and weâre committed to this,â Mohammad Dahlan, a Gaza strongman who is part of the young guard, told Reuters.