Palestinians will hold a parliamentary election in January, President Mahmoud Abbas said today.
He announced the move two months after postponing a vote set for July 17th, saying he needed time to resolve a dispute over proposed reforms to the electoral law. Parliament enacted a voting reform bill soon afterwards.
Palestinian women pictured today celebrating Israel's imminent pull out from Gaza. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
The delay raised tension with the opposition Islamic faction Hamas, which accused Mr Abbas of stalling for time to overhaul his troubled Fatah movement.
Fatah runs the Palestinian Authority but has been beset by corruption, mismanagement and armed factions. Fatah's failings translated to a series of Hamas victories in recent municipal voting, the Islamists' first stab at electoral politics.
The faltering grip of Fatah has raised concern about turmoil in Gaza after Israel's withdrawal of Jewish settlers due to begin next week.
Mr Abbas has invited Hamas to join a unity government to help him control Gaza after Israel's pullout. But Hamas rebuffed him last month, saying they wanted a parliamentary election first.
About 200 masked, armed members of a Fatah militant faction, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, rallied outside the parliament session in Gaza City demanding an end to what they called attempts to arrest their members by Mr Abbas's security forces.
They also demanded the resignation of Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, a favourite of key Western donors for his commitment to anti-corruption reforms.
The only other Palestinian parliamentary election was in 1996.
Reuters