Hamas criticises Fatah over election plan

Hamas on Sunday accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement of violating a reconciliation agreement by opening voter registration for local elections due to be held in October in the occupied West Bank.

Islamist Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip in a 2007 civil war with Fatah, has described the planned ballot as illegitimate. Fatah is the dominant party in the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank. (Reuters)