Hamas, Islamic Jihad refuse truce, participation in the elections

The two Islamic resistance movement ( Hamas) and the Islamic Jihad announced their rejection to take part in the elections to be organized on January 9th, 2005 to choose a new President for the Palestinian Authority.

On the sideline of their meetings in Gaza with the chairman of the PLO executive committee Mahmoud Abbas ( Abu Mazin), the two movements refused a call made by the latter to halt resistance operations during the few coming months in order to ensure the appropriate atmosphere to convene the presidential elections.

The leading figure in Hamas Mahmoud al-Zahhar considered that the elections to chose a successor for the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will be "partial and illegal" and comes as a "continuation of the Oslo agreement which failed and ended."

Concerning easing down the conditions, al-Zahar stressed that if Israel stops aggressions, invasions, assassinations and occupation and the expansion of settlements and released the detainees there will be a new ground then to talk about.

The two movements called for a joint national leadership until general elections are held in which the Palestinian people can take part being presidential, parliamentary or even municipal elections.

Abbas had also met with the representatives of the Intifada higher follow up committee which includes 13 Palestinian groups in order to discuss the situation after Arafat's death but without reaching an agreement over the two questions of the Palestinian authority elections and forming a united leadership.