Hamas Says Ready For Palestinian Elections, by Faris K. Barhoum

From Left to Right: Yahya Sinwar the Head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the former Head of Hamas in Gaza, Ismail Haniyah.

                                         




October 29, 2019



By Faris K. Barhoum



    Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Head of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar have announced that they are ready and prepared for Palestinian elections. The Palestinian people last held a national election in the spring of 2006. Hamas won that election in a landslide which resulted in Europe, America, and Israel boycotting and refusing to deal with the Palestinian faction because the Hamas movement is labeled and considered a terrorist organization by those in the West and by Israel. It would be a positive step for a national election to be held, especially since the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have had a bitter rivalry as a result of the first election in 2006.
   The announcement was made by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah on Monday [October 28], after a meeting with Palestinian Central Election Commissioner Hanna Nasser. Yet, as stated by Ynet.com, "There was no indication whether the meeting overcame the obstacles that have scuttled similar pledges in the past" (Ynet, 1). The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have made several pledges in the past and those pledges have broken down. The reason for this is because both Palestinian factions fought one another in 2007 when Hamas forceable kicked out the Palestinian Authority and the PA permanently resettled in the West Bank. Mahmoud Abbas the leader of the Sultah or the Palestinian Authority announced the intention to hold Palestinian elections, while he spoke at the UN General Assembly in New York last month.
   It remains to be seen what will come about with the whole discussion surrounding a Palestinian election. It is my hope that a Palestinian national election will be held and that the results will be respected by Israel, the West, and the international community.

Article,

Ynet.com and the Associated Press. "Hamas Says Ready For Palestinian Elections,"
    https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5615027,00.html 10/29/19.