Hamas rejects decision by Abbas to delay polls

ANKARA

Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Friday slammed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to delay parliamentary polls scheduled to take place on May 22.

"We received with regret the Fatah [group] and Palestinian Authority’s decision represented through its chairman, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, to disrupt the Palestinian elections," it said in a statement following Abbas’s announcement on postponing the polls.

Hamas said it held the Palestinian Authority and Fatah fully responsible for the postponement and its repercussions, considering such a step "a coup against the path of national partnership and consensus."

The statement said Hamas had boycotted the meeting, as "it knew earlier that the PA and Fatah are heading to disrupt the elections for other calculations not related to Jerusalem."

Abbas decided late Thursday to postpone parliamentary polls, citing Israel's rejection of allowing elections to be held in occupied East Jerusalem.

He stressed, however, that once Israel permits elections in Jerusalem, he will hold the polls "within a week."

Following Abbas’s decision, hundreds of angry Palestinians gathered in the central city of Ramallah to condemn the move.

Earlier this week, Al-Quds daily, known for being close to the Palestinian Authority, revealed that Abbas was under Arab and American pressure to delay the polls.

The daily said the pressure came as there were fears that Hamas might win the elections.