It received guarantees from 4 countries ... Details of Hamas's abdication of the condition for simultaneous elections, and the train of reconciliation starts again

Without introductions, and surprisingly, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) waived the condition of holding simultaneous elections for the Legislative Council, the Presidency, and the National Council of the Liberation Organization, and announced its approval of the demand of Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to hold them in a row.

This decision by Hamas came about a month after the failure of the Cairo dialogue with the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) late last November, which coincided with the Palestinian Authority’s announcement of the resumption of its relations with Israel.

Al-Jazeera Net revealed at the time the details of the last moments of the failure of the Cairo dialogue, due to the disagreement of the two movements over the method of holding the elections.

Hamas justified its new position as a response to the interventions of 4 countries (Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Russia) and that it received guarantees from these countries that the three elections would be held consecutively within 6 months, and that they were supervised to ensure their integrity.

Abbas welcomed Haniyeh's message regarding the elections (Anatolia)

Official request

An official source in Hamas revealed to Al-Jazeera Net that the movement was afraid that Abbas would avoid completing the remaining elections after realizing his goal of holding the legislative elections first.

The source said, preferring not to reveal his identity, that the current move towards reconciliation came at the initiative of Abbas himself, who formally requested the four countries to intervene with Hamas to resume reconciliation efforts and end the division that has continued since mid-2007 through the election portal.

He affirmed that national reconciliation for Hamas is a "strategic choice" and that for this reason it did not hesitate to respond to this initiative and to state interference, but it wanted "guarantees" that would achieve justice and integrity, which led to the two exchanged messages between the head of the movement's political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh and President Abbas.

Abbas welcomed the contents of Haniyeh's written letter conveyed to him by the Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub.

Wasfi, whose title is a prominent leader in Hamas and a former minister in its tenth government, told Al-Jazeera Net that the president is now required to issue decrees setting the dates for elections that start with the Legislative Council, then the presidency, and end with the National Council.

"Hamas has achieved to President Abbas what he wants through Abu al-Abd (Haniyeh )’s letter, which included formal approval to hold the elections in a row, and now he must take a corresponding step by issuing decrees at specific times not exceeding 6 months, as was previously agreed upon,” he added.

His title affirmed that Hamas is keen on free and fair elections that achieve justice for all regardless of who wins, saying, "The nation needs all patriots, and this is what the movement discussed with the mediators who provided guarantees to achieve this by pledging to supervise them with impartiality."

Proportional representation

Concerning the mechanisms and law of the elections, the Hamas leader explained that it had been agreed in advance between the forces and factions to conduct them according to a full proportional representation system.

As for the method of candidacy, and whether it will be fought with a unified national list or with separate factional lists, or perhaps with factional alliances, its title said that this is left to the National Conference (factional dialogue), which will discuss after the issuance of the presidential decrees in the details to prepare the atmosphere and prepare them for elections.

His title affirmed that Hamas is open to discussing all options that achieve the national interest, and reserves the right to political partnership for all, away from exclusion and exclusivity.

Hamas had won the parliamentary majority in the last elections that took place in early 2006 according to the lists and districts system, but soon differences occurred that led to the bloody fighting that led to a split on June 14, 2007.

Guarantees and consultations

For his part, a political analyst close to Hamas, Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, confirmed to Al-Jazeera Net that the movement did not want the period of division to continue throughout these years, and this explains its continuous response to all initiatives and efforts.

Regarding the new position, Al-Madhoun explained that Hamas had received guarantees from the mediating countries that dispelled its fears that President Abbas would be satisfied with the legislative elections and disavow their completion of holding the presidential and National Council elections.

Al-Madhoun said that Hamas held internal consultations in its leadership frameworks and came out with a "position appreciation" of the necessity of removing pretexts and not accusing it of thwarting reconciliation efforts on the one hand, and that it contributes to strengthening its international relations, whether with pivotal Arab countries or major countries such as Russia.

Accordingly, Al-Madhoun adds, the interventions of these countries converged with Hamas' belief that holding the three elections is the right way to renew legitimacy and revive national institutions, as the only way to achieve full national partnership.

Al-Madhoun said that the new moves give rise to cautious optimism, pending how Abbas will face the Israeli pressure, after he realized that Hamas cannot be bypassed and neutralized from the scene.

The political analyst ruled out that Hamas would take any "dramatic stance" that contradicts what it has been announcing regarding its adherence to the reconciliation option, even if the current efforts fail.