Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction on Monday said it had accepted an Egyptian offer to end a rift with Hamas and would delay presidential and parliamentary elections due in January.
Egypt last week proposed holding elections during the first half of 2010 to allow more time to work out a deal between the two rival factions. "We have decided to accept the Egyptian proposal, including holding the elections during the first half of next year and no later than this date," said Abbas Zaki, a member of Fatah's Central Committee,according to Reuters.
Fatah made the announcement early on Monday after its Central Committee convened a late-night meeting on Sunday chaired by Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah. According to Fatah sources, Hamas had told Fatah during past round of talks that it prefers an extended delay to elections.
Nabil Shaath, another Fatah official, conveyed that the group did not mind a delay but "there should be a specific date and not to leave the matter open as if we do then it could be postponed again".
Hamas has said it would state its position regarding the Egyptian proposal after the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr due next week.
