Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L), Hamas Chief, Khaled Meshaal (R) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that a long-anticipated reconciliation between his Fatah party and Hamas has reached "a deadlock". Abbas told the Turkish news agency Anadolu that Fatah would not go forward with setting up a national unity government with Hamas without elections to take place in West Bank and Gaza.
Fatah and Hamas agreed to hold elections in the reconciliation treaty they signed in Cairo in May 2011, but Hamas is refusing to allow the Central Elections Commission to update the voter registry in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, announced it would hold elections on October 20, and gave Hamas two weeks to reverse its decision and allow preparations for a vote to take place in Gaza.
"The situation we are in is a deadlock," Abbas said.
Hamas' spokesperson Sami Abu Zihri, responded quickly to Abbas' comments, saying that the Palestinian president's "peremptory tone" will only add more reasons to halt the reconciliation between the two movements.
"Abbas's comments are to the contrary to what was agreed in Cairo. The Cairo agreement states that the national unity government is to supervise the elections. That means that the government should come before the elections," said Abu Zihri in a press release later on Monday.
In his interview with Anadolu, Abbas added that the presidential elections should be held as soon as possible, insisting that he would not run for reelection.
The Palestinian president urged Israel to stop settlement activities and commit to the road map which he had earlier agreed on with former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert.
Olmert was forced to resign after he was charged of financial corruption.
Abbas meanwhile stated that he would offer as much help as possible to unveil who was behind the death of the late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat, "including the opening of Arafat's tomb if needed".
He also criticised the United States' recent "lack of interest in peace in the Middle East," saying that president Barack Obama's administration has been instead giving full attention to the US presidential elections planned in November.