Hamas and Fatah will hold conciliation talks in Cairo

Egypt has tried in vain for 14 years to reconcile Fatah nationalist Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his bitter rival Hamas, the armed Islamic movement that opposes any talks with Israel.

Palestinian elections have not been held in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem for 15 years.

In addition to Hamas and Fatah it is estimated that about a dozen other groups are represented in the Cairo talks. Among those invited was Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed terrorist group that was a boy on the 1996 and 2006 elections and which Palestinian sources say are now concerned about whether they should participate in the year.

But there is such confidence between the contestants that matters on the agenda include electoral fundamentals such as how ballot stations are protected and how courts adjudicate electoral disputes.

There is a widespread suspicion that the elections will even take place.

Many Palestinians see them primarily as an attempt by Abbas to reveal their democratic credentials to the new administration of President Joe Biden, with whom Abbas wants to restore friendship after reaching a new level under President Donald Trump.

“There are equal opportunities for success and failure,” said Hani Al-Masri, a political analyst in the West Bank, who is taking part in the talks as an independent.

The Abbas-backed Palestinian Authority Abbas, which has limited autonomy in the West Bank, plans to hold parliamentary elections on May 22 and a prime vote on July 31.

There are 2.8 million eligible voters in Gaza and the West Bank, and to date over 80 per cent of them are registered with the Central Electoral Commission. Palestinian voting age is 18 years old.

The last ballot in 2006 ended with a landslide victory by Hamas in its first parliamentary elections. That established a power struggle between Hamas, with its power base in Gaza, and Abbas’ Fatah in the West Bank.