Call by Abbas for early elections raises high tensions in Palestine

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-18-2006 15:56

The call by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for early elections has raised tensions and fears of a civil war. Residents of the impoverished coastal Gaza Strip were on alert on Sunday after a night of violent clashes between the ruling Hamas group and forces loyal to President Abbas.

Following months of factional violence that raised fears of civil war, Abbas said parliamentary and presidential elections should be held as soon as possible. But he also said efforts to form a unity government should continue. Some Gaza residents backed the president's call by saying that the Hamas-government was not performing well.

One said, "Mahmoud Abbas' speech was a blessing. We gave Hamas a chance and they didn't achieve anything. What did they give us besides destruction, hunger and poverty? How did we benefit from that? Go look at unemployment and see how many people are signing up for unemployment."

Talks between Hamas and Fatah on forming a unity government have broken down repeatedly in recent months. The major reason is that Hamas has refused to change its stance toward Israel. Hamas is sworn to Israel's destruction. And after it took office in March, the United States and the European Union cut financial aid to the Palestinian government. Some residents have expressed hopes for a government that can reverse the region's harsh conditions.

A president said, "We need a government, whether it's Fatah or Hamas, which will work to end all the problems of the Palestinians, whether they be political, social or economic. We don't favor Hamas or Fatah. We favor a government that has the Palestinian street as it's priority and not the search for government seats."

Meanwhile, Hamas says the president has no authority to call early elections. The movement's leaders say they will never allow early elections to be held, but stopped short of saying how they would prevent this. And Hamas legislators say they will try to declare the move illegal, through a parliamentary vote.

Editor:Du Xiaodan