The Palestinian Authority briefed the U.S. on agreements reached with Hamas ahead of the Palestinian May elections.
The first official letter to the new administration's coordinator of Israeli-Palestinians relations Hedy Lamar from Hussein Al Sheik, a senior Palestinian official, stated that all factions were committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state in the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and to conduct a peaceful resistance to Israel.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas therefore decided to declare parliamentary and presidential elections for the first time in 15 years, the letter went on to say.