Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday postponed legislative elections set for July 17, provoking a furious reaction from Hamas, which had hoped to score a major success at the polls. Abbas "decided to annul the previous decree fixing July 17 as the election date," a Palestinian Authority statement said. "A new date will be set by decree following consultations with the different Palestinian movements and the adoption of a new election law by the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)," it said, referring to the parliament.The move prompted anger among some MPs, with PLC deputy speaker Hassan Khreishe threatening to resign in protest. "Along with other MPs in the PLC, I am considering resigning following Mahmoud Abbas' decision to delay the elections," Khreishe told AFP.
The delay drew a bitter response from Hamas, which had been expected to win a substantial political powerbase in its first ever legislative elections after doing well in local polls earlier this year. "Abbas's postponement decision was unilateral. He did not consult with Palestinian movements," said a statement from Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri. "This decision shows the Palestinian Authority is not serious about its commitments. It risks causing chaos and giving a negative impression about the Palestinian nation because it obeys when the Americans and Israel multiply their calls for an electoral postponement," it said. The leftist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) also slammed the decision, saying it contravened agreements reached between Abbas and the factions during talks in Cairo in March.