Abbas: No reconciliation with Hamas before elections

Dashing hopes of imminent Palestinian Authority control over the Gaza Strip, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas will not materialize before national elections are held next year.

Speaking to journalists in Cairo on Sunday following an international donor conference that pledged $5.4 billion for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, Abbas said that Hamas continues to wield de-facto control over the coastal enclave that it took over by force in 2007.

“National reconciliation and an end to the [political] divide will be realized with the conducting of parliamentary and presidential elections,” Abbas said in a message published by official Palestinian news agency WAFA. “This was agreed upon in Egypt, Doha and Gaza last April.”

Hamas and Fatah jointly appointed a unity technocrat government in June, ostensibly ending seven years of political strife. According to the reconciliation agreement, the government was tasked with preparing for nationwide elections within six month, a timetable delayed by the Gaza operation.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-no-reconciliation-with-hamas-before-elections/