Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas officially called for Parliamentary and presidential elections to be held January 24 of next year, a move rebukes Egyptian efforts to reconcile Palestinian factions. Abbas said:

“The Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are called to take part in the general presidential and parliamentary election on Sunday, January 24, 2010.”

Hamas rejected the call for elections may hold parallel elections in the Gaza Strip on the same day using its own rules to govern the process.

In response to the call for elections, an Islamic Jihad officials said,

“The Palestinian people are anxiously awaiting reconciliation and (Abbas’) move only complicates matters. I don’t think elections can be held in the Gaza Strip in light of the ongoing division.”

Egyptian officials, particularly President Hosni Mubarak, have attended to forge a peace agreement between the rival Fatah and Hamas factions. Mubarak masqueraded himself through the media as a major broker in Middle East negotiations, even though his repeated efforts to foster cooperation within Palestinian society and between Palestinians and Israel have failed. The latest rounds of intra-Palestinian negotiations largely focussed on the timing of elections and representation within the legislature.

It remains unclear who will lead the ballot for Hamas and Fatah. Since the controversy over the disputed Goldstone report, Abbas’ poll numbers have steadily dropped. To lead the Palestinian Authority, Abbas could face serious opposition from Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who remains in an Israeli prison and is a highly respected former intra-party adversary to Yasser Arafat.

Photo from Ma’an News.