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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Hamas rejects Abbas' call for early elections |
| 2008-05-06 |
| (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Monday rejected a call by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for holding early elections. "No way to hold early parliamentary and presidential elections without a national agreement," spokesman Ayman Taha told reporters in Gaza. Abbas' call was made Sunday in Ramallah after he met with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.Taha said his movement wants Abbas to resume inter-Palestinian talks without preconditions. "If an agreement was made on any early elections, certainly Hamas will not oppose," Taha added. Abbas bans any contact with Hamas since June when it violently took over Gaza Strip after routing his forces.Hamas won parliamentary elections in January 2006. After Gaza'a takeover, Abbas fired Hamas government and formed a caretaker government based in West Bank and supported by the west. Hamas kept ruling Gaza under tight Israeli siege and increasing attacks. |
| Posted by:Fred |