The head of the political bureau of "Hamas", Ismail Haniyeh, announced Sunday that his movement would accept the holding of Palestinian parliamentary, presidential and National Council elections, respectively, not synchronization.
In the past, Hamas required holding the three rounds of elections simultaneously, which caused obstruction of the reconciliation talks, as Fatah used to demand that legislative elections be held first, followed by the presidency and then the National Council.
In a televised speech broadcast by Al-Aqsa TV, Haniyeh said that Hamas has confirmed its willingness to hold Palestinian legislative (parliamentary) and presidential elections, and the National Council (the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organization), respectively, with the guarantee of Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Russia.
He added that Hamas understood the necessity of resuming the internal dialogue process, and accordingly it sent messages to Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Russia and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Haniyeh added that the movement confirmed in the messages its readiness to resume the national dialogue, and to conclude an agreement to hold elections that will end within 6 months.
In the context, Haniyeh indicated that he had received a written reply letter from President Abbas, which included welcoming the position of Hamas and affirming his commitment to holding elections and achieving the principle of Palestinian partnership.
He also confirmed that Hamas has received assurances from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey on the position of President Abbas.
Haniyeh explained that his movement wants to enter into a national dialogue as soon as possible on the basis of preserving the right of the Palestinian people to resist the occupation in all forms, and to take political and legal action to defend their rights.
He said that Hamas aspires to the Palestinian dialogue to rebuild the PLO and end the division in the form of a unified Palestinian legislative council and a unified national government.
He also expressed his aspiration for the issuance of presidential decrees that specify the dates for holding the elections. After that, direct factional dialogue will start to agree on all the details and procedures related to these elections.
The last Palestinian elections for the Legislative Council were held in early 2006, and resulted in Hamas winning the majority, while a year earlier, elections for the presidency, in which Mahmoud Abbas won.
On November 16 and 17, the Hamas and Fatah movements held meetings in Cairo to discuss efforts to achieve internal reconciliation and hold general elections, but efforts were hampered and the two movements exchanged accusations about the party behind the obstruction.
Fatah said on November 25 that the Palestinian reconciliation dialogues had not succeeded due to disagreements with Hamas over the dates for the elections.