Abbas hints at elections, Hamas arming
Group preparing for 'Judgment Day' when Abbas disbands Hamas-led gov't and Palestinian parliament, declares new elections and total chaos engulfs PA. Sources tell Ynet at least 600 new weapons transferred to activists
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared Wednesday afternoon that "the talks with Hamas on the establishment of a unity government have ended and are not being held anymore."
He also hinted that he may disband the Hamas-led government and the Palestinian parliament.
"We are serious about our plan to establish a new unity government. We will see where things are going in the next two weeks and by then we will decide how to act. I will use my constitutional authorities when the time is right," he told reporters at the Muqataa, accompanied by Bahrain's foreign minister.
Meanwhile, Hamas is embracing for an armed confrontation with Fatah in the West Bank should Abbas disband the government and call for new elections in the Palestinian Authority – a scenario the Islamic group says would plunge the Palestinian territories into total chaos.
Fatah members in Tulkarm (Photo: Reuters)
Violent clashes between Hamas and rivals Fatah continued Tuesday night in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A Hamas political activist was assassinated in Qalqilya at close range.
Hamas officials told Ynet that hundreds of automatic rifles have been smuggled into the West Bank to bolster the group's military presence there.
At least 600 new rifles and various shells have been distributed to operatives in the West Bank, the officials said.
Mashaal overseeing rearmament efforts
Hamas is intent on preventing Fatah from toppling the government of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. In any case, they will not accept a situation in which the military inferiority opposite Fatah in the West Bank will constitute a balance of terror.
Efforts of rearmament are being overseen from Damascus by Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal who believes the group should be prepared for "the moment of truth" should President Abbas dare to dissolve parliament and declare new elections.
Hamas also fears Israel could cash in on the spate of internal strife to step up military operations against its operatives in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) is believed to have offered Hamas full military backing in any armed confrontation with Fatah or Israel.
Jordanian intelligence officers are trying to prevent a full-scale armed confrontation between Hamas and Fatah by seeking talks with Hamas and PRC leaders.
