Fri, Jul 20, 2007 - Page 6 News List

Abbas plans to call early elections, isolate Hamas

'ILLEGITIMATE'Hamas rejected the palestinian president's announcement, saying neither he nor the Palestine Central Council were empowered to call elections

AP , RAMALLAH, WEST BANK

Last year, Fatah candidates fought each other in several constituencies, allowing Hamas to win those seats and contributing to Fatah's unprecedented rout.

Instead, Palestinians will vote for parties, and parliament seats would be apportioned according to the percentage of votes each party received.

Though Abbas said the elections will be open to all Palestinians, Hamas said it would oppose the balloting, and it was hard to see how they could be conducted in Gaza.

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