| Help Desk |
 Why were Palestinian local council elections canceled? I was surprised by the announcement that Palestinian local council elections were going to be canceled because I understood that the Fateh-led Palestinian Authority wanted to replace many Hamas-won seats with their own people. What happened? | | Submitted by cseitzmideast |
Answer: Initially, officials said that the elections were canceled in order to prevent more tension between Fateh and Hamas, in hopes that an accord was possible between the two factions. Hamas, which won general elections in January 2006, overran Fateh-dominated Palestinian Authority security installations in Gaza in 2007, and has controlled the Gaza Strip ever since.
With time, however, it has become clear that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas canceled the elections due to disputes within Fateh over who would run in the elections. Fearful of a poor showing, the vote was postponed indefinitely. A movement has been established to challenge the decision in court, however. |
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| What is the significance of the killing of Hamas leader Mahmoud Mabhouh? Hamas commander Mahmoud Mabhouh was found dead in a Dubai hotel room on Jan. 20, 2010. Hamas is charging Israel with assassinating him. What does this mean for the regional and domestic conflict? | | Submitted by isam |
Answer: Mahmoud Mabhouh was wanted by Israel for allegedly kidnapping two Israeli soldiers in the first Palestinian uprising. Mabhouh was also a major arms procurator for the movement, Hamas says. His killing means another founder of the Izzedin al-Qassem, Hamas armed wing, is dead. In addition, the fact that he was killed in usually-quiet Dubai could mean that Hamas will change its policy of only attacking Israelis in the occupied Palestinian territories. So far, the movement has made conflicting statements on the matter. |
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| What will happen at the Fateh conference? Why is it important that Fateh is gathering for a conference? How does it affect political events? | | Submitted by cseitzmideast |
Answer: On June 24, Fateh revolutionary council held an emergency meeting and decided to hold the movements 6th general conference on August 4 in Bethlehem.
This will be the movements first organizing conference in 20 years and is the subject of a great deal of controversy. Many of Fatehs leaders are aging, and the movement has changed quite a bit since it became strong under the leadership of Yasser Arafat. |
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