Hamas is prepared to run for elections in case the electoral process includes all Palestinian institutions, member of Hamas Political Bureau Salah al-Bardawil said.

In a press release, the senior Hamas official expressed the movement’s willingness to participate in elections for the Palestinian Liberation Organisations and all the other Palestinian institutions.

Al-Bardawil said that all the Palestinian factions should be involved in any future elections that have to be based on national partnership.

Al-Bardawil reiterated that the elections should be held and their results must be respected.

The senior official questioned the “seriousness” of the PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s call for elections.

 “Abbas’ call for elections was after he breached the Palestinian Basic Law by dissolving the Palestinian Legislative Council and threatened to impose new sanctions on the Palestinian people in Gaza,” al-Bardawil added. 

Al-Bardawil stressed that the elections should be held ‘within the framework of national consensus’ and based on democracy, as agreed upon in the 2011 Cairo Agreement.

As per the 2011 Cairo agreement, all Palestinian factions agreed on settling the contested issues, including holding elections, Gaza reconstruction, social reconciliation, al-Bardawil noted.   

Regarding the latest Israeli aggression on Gaza, al-Bardawil said that this escalation was a bid by the Israeli PM Netanyahu to restore deterrence on the ground.   

Al-Bardawil noted that all Palestinian factions convened to discuss the ways to retaliate against the ongoing Israeli crimes committed against the Palestinian people.