Abbas mulls snap elections
Mahmoud Abbas' political position could be at risk after a snap election
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Sunday, 10, Dec 2006 07:41
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is contemplating early elections to break the political deadlock crippling his fledgling quasi-state, according to senior Palestinian leaders.
It emerged today that Mr Abbas is considering the last-resort move following the complete failure of attempts to form a unity government, as his country continues to suffer under the weight of crippling international sanctions.
Mr Abbas had hoped to reconcile his moderate Fatah party with the extremist Hamas movement, which has held a majority in the Palestinian parliament since elections held this January.
Instead of unity, Hamas' intransigence on the crucial issue of whether or not to recognise Israel as a state brought division that has, so far, proved devastating.
Sanctions are being imposed by the international community to punish the Palestinians' support of Hamas, which advocates violent resistance to Israeli forces throughout the Palestinian territories.
Prime minister Ismael Haniya, leader of Hamas, rejected the calls for early elections while on a visit to Iran today.
He warned that Mr Abbas has no legal power to call early elections, saying, according to the Xinhua news agency, that "we feel some individuals are unjustly stabbing us from behind".