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Hamas should accept reconciliation terms on basis of general elections: PLO

Xinhua, February 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary General Saeb Erekat called on the Islamic Hamas movement Tuesday to accept the terms of national reconciliation on the basis of holding new general elections.

Erekat told a local radio station in Gaza that the proposed solutions to realize the Palestinian reconciliations are the foundation of new unity government, legislative and presidential elections.

He called on Hamas to respond promptly to national unity in order to return to the election ballots and not bullets.

Erekat said there would be no Palestinian state without the Gaza Strip and the division must be ended as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, Erekat warned that Palestinians must not be drawn into the Israeli scheme to isolate the Gaza Strip and kill the Palestinian national project and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Hamas leader Salah al Bardaweel said his movement is constantly ready to hold legislative and presidential elections in accordance with the terms of the national reconciliation agreement.

The Gaza-based leader said the Hamas leadership is currently studying what was recently achieved in the Doha talks with Fatah party and will not make a final call before the resumption of those meetings to re-address the movement's notes.

Fatah and Hamas announced last week arriving at a "practical vision" of the national reconciliation deal after a round of meetings for two days in Doha earlier this month. Endit