Haniyeh calls for Hamas-Fatah unity
Published today (updated) 02/09/2009 21:42
www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=223214

Gaza - Ma'an - De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh extended an offer of
unity to the Fatah movement, urging his rivals to forget the past.

"I am telling Fatah to turn a new page and forget about what happened in the
past and start a new Palestinian stage. I am calling for reconciliation and
solutions for a positive result in the dialogue," the Hamas leader said.

"Palestinians have no other choice; they have to sit for the dialogue," he
said, referring to the currently dormant Egyptian-mediated unity
negotiations.

Haniyeh was speaking at an Iftar, the sundown meal the breaks the Ramadan
fast, at his cabinet's headquarters in Gaza City.

Hamas, the winner of 2006 parliamentary elections, seized full control of
the Gaza Strip in June 2007, shutting down Fatah-backed security forces. The
takeover began more than two years of political disunity.

In his remarks he also addressed the issue of elections. During a previous
round of negotiations with Fatah, the factions agreed that elections should
take place in January 2010.

The Hamas leader said he is opposed to holding elections before there is an
agreement that reunites Gaza and the West Bank under one administrative
umbrella.

Holding elections in the absence of a unity deal, he said, would be "a
crime."

"The elections should be within the Palestinian agreement because it is one
of the most important files in the Palestinian dialogue that is backed by
Egypt," he said.

"In order to have the elections on time there must be an agreement where the
presidential, legislative, and National Council elections should take place
simultaneously," he added, arguing that regional and international powers
also want elections to take place in both Gaza and the West Bank.