Hamas rejects Fatah's election offer

Islamic Hamas movement on Sunday rejected an offer by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party to hold general elections, a Fatah official said. Hamas informed a Fatah delegation visiting Gaza that the elections should be the last step in the Palestinian reconciliation, not the first, said Amin Maqboul, head of the Fatah delegation. The delegation met Hamas officials in Gaza Sunday evening. Emad Al-Alami, the Hamas representative in the meeting, declined to speak to reporters. Earlier, Maqboul told Xinhua that holding general elections is "a good step to end the split that has been going on since 2007," referring to Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip and the ensuing political division from the West Bank, where Abbas is ruling. After years of Egyptian and Qatari-sponsored talks between Hamas and Fatah, Maqboul said his movement believes that holding elections is the only way to settle outstanding differences that negotiations could not do. Maqboul said the Fatah delegation has briefed other Palestinian factions on the idea of elections and they welcomed it. Hamas has always said it rejects elections before outstanding issues are resolved. Issues in controversy include the reform of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the security services' structure, social reconciliation and the formation of a transitional unity government.