A specialized panel has advised President Mahmoud Abbas to leave Hamas in power for now, but call new elections if the economic crisis in the Palestinian territories worsens further, sources close to the panel said Thursday.
President Abbas said he would 'carefully' study the recommendations of the commission, which he appointed last week after saying months-long talks with Hamas over forming a national unity government were dead.
'Our foremost concern is to put in place a government composed of competent people that will be able to lift the siege,' Abbas said, referring to a Western aid freeze imposed after Hamas took power in March.
Abbas had sought to end the economic boycott by pushing Hamas to join Fatah in a coalition government. But talks broke down last week and Abbas has since been weighing three options: leave Hamas in power, dismiss the government or call a referendum on holding new elections.
Abbas declined to discuss the options when speaking to reporters Thursday in Ramallah. Although talks with Hamas have hit an impasse, he said new negotiations were still possible.
'Unfortunately, our dialogue hit a dead end, although we should keep up hope to have a national unity government,' he said.
Abbas, who discussed the three options late Wednesday with a panel of PLO members, is expected to announce a decision on how to move forward next week. All three choices have serious drawbacks.
Leaving Hamas in power would mean the international aid boycott would remain in place. If Abbas dismissed the government, the Hamas-dominated parliament could block any attempt to install a new Cabinet. And Fatah would not be guaranteed to win new elections should they be held.
Saleh Raafat, a member of the panel that met with Abbas, said a combination of two options is being considered.
'We have two recommendations,' said Raafat, who represents the PLO’s FIDA Party. 'The first is leaving Hamas in power while Fatah constitutes the opposition and gives Hamas a chance to solve the crisis. If it can't do so, then we have to resort to the second choice, a referendum on early elections.'
'We are going to give Hamas a chance to solve the crisis, but I am sure it will not pass the test. It will not succeed unless it changes (its positions),' he said.
'I believe the most likely choice is early elections for president and parliament,' said Azzam al-Ahmad, head of moderate Fatah party in parliament and a member of the commission.
'I think the definitive choice will be to hold early elections,' he said Thursday.
Independent economists say the Palestinian economy is in deep trouble. U.N. groups are asking for a record $450 million in aid to prevent a further economic deterioration in the territories.
According to the U.N., 65 percent of Palestinians are living in poverty and 29 percent are unemployed. The Palestinian health care system is running out of medicine and on the verge of collapse, and nearly half of all Palestinians don’t have reliable access to food.