Abbas Says Ready to Go to Gaza to End Division With Hamas

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he is ready to go to the Gaza Strip “tomorrow” to end a split with the Islamic militant Hamas movement that controls the territory.

“I asked Haniyeh to meet me at the entrance of Gaza with all the factions,” Abbas told the Palestinian National Council in the West Bank city of Ramallah today. “I am not talking about more negotiations. It is time we reached an agreement.”

The division between Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh dates back to 2007, when Hamas ousted Abbas’s forces from Gaza a year after winning parliamentary elections, ending a partnership government with the president’s Fatah party. Abbas is in control of the West Bank.

Abbas said the sides have agreed on reconciliation points in talks mediated by Egypt and all that was left was to approve the document. “We need to move forward to put elections in place in the next six months,” Abbas said.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-16/abbas-says-ready-to-go-to-gaza-to-end-division-with-hamas.html

What are the chances that Hamas might win a general election? I don't think Abbas would be calling for elections if he thought they would win, but if Hamas excepts, it must mean they think that they could win. I might not be all that up to speed on Palestinian politics, but I can't imagine a Hamas win being good for the Palestinians.

Recent polls showed Hamas losing by a fair amount - but so did the polls right before their big success so who knows.

But the only way to be sure is try it and see what happens.