July 6, 2016

• Even as Hamas continues to resist Fatah demands to relinquish control over the Gaza Strip, Hamas representatives could easily win elections in several West Bank cities and villages, especially in the Hebron area, where the Islamist movement is considered more popular than the Fatah faction. Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah have yet to recover from their recent defeat by Hamas at Bir Zeit University’s student council election in April.
• The decision to hold the municipal elections was announced at a time when the West Bank is witnessing increasing lawlessness among Palestinians, and Palestinian Authority security forces seem to be losing control.
• Holding elections without Hamas’s participation, will risk further consolidating the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip — and reinforcing the reality that the Palestinians already have two separate mini-states.
• The current mayhem plaguing West Bank cities, villages and refugee camps will not help in holding any free and fair elections.

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