Abbas: No elections if Gaza doesn't take part (AP)

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that elections won't be held by September as planned if the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers won't allow balloting there.

Abbas' West Bank-based government called the long-delayed presidential and parliamentary elections over the weekend, but the rival Islamic Hamas has said Gaza will not take part in the vote.

"Unless we are capable of holding elections in both the West Bank and Gaza, then we will not hold elections," Abbas told reporters in Ramallah on Thursday.

Abbas governs the West Bank but lost control of Gaza to Hamas in a violent 2007 takeover. Several attempts to reconcile the two factions have failed.

Abbas aides said the Palestinian president had not backed down on his commitment to the vote. Senior adviser Yasser Abed Rabbo said that if necessary, the Palestinian Authority would find a "creative" way to circumvent any Hamas opposition so Gazans would be able to take part. Measures being explored include voting by Internet, Palestinian officials have said.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri disputed Abbas' sincerity in calling for elections.

"This confusion of the Palestinian Authority reflects the internal crisis it is going through and shows their call for elections is not an honest one," he said.

The scheduling of the long-overdue vote was seen as a response to widespread Mideast protests against autocratic regimes that have toppled longtime dictators in Tunisia and Egypt.

Abbas and President Barack Obama spoke by telephone for 50 minutes on Thursday, said Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Aburdeneh. He said they discussed the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia and the Palestinian-backed proposed resolution in the U.N. Security Council declaring Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal. He gave no further details.

The Palestinian Authority has not held elections since 2006, leaving Abbas and members of parliament in office after their elected terms ended.

Abbas' four-year term expired in 2009, though it has been extended indefinitely. The parliament's term expired in 2010, but the legislature remains in office, although its work is hindered by the split between the territories.

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Palestinian cabinet quits in reform move by Abbas (Reuters)

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – The Palestinian cabinet resigned on Monday, in an apparent attempt by President Mahmoud Abbas to show his willingness for change in the wake of a popular uprising in Egypt.

The new cabinet will be charged with preparing for elections that have been announced for later this year, and will also be expected to boost the government's profile as it seeks international backing in its standoff with Israel.

Hamas, which has sour relations with Abbas, says it will not take part in the ballot or recognize the results -- a decision that will make it hard for Abbas to stage a credible vote.

The latest reshuffle had been demanded by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who has spearheaded efforts to create institutions for a Palestinian state. The Western-backed Fayyad will retain his post and select new ministers, officials said.

"The cabinet resigned today and the formation of a new cabinet will take place as soon as possible," Ali Jarbawi, minister of planning, told Reuters.

Financed by international donors and engaged in security coordination with Israel, the Palestinian Authority has a limited mandate in the occupied West Bank. It lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists in a 2007 civil war.

Abbas's credibility has been further sapped by stalled talks with Israel on a deal to establish an independent state, and the Palestinians have increasingly looked to build international consensus to try to pressure Israel into making concessions.

Hamas, which rejects permanent co-existence with Israel, said the reshuffle was motivated by Abbas's fears that the Palestinians would follow the lead of angry Egyptians.

"Unless Mahmoud Abbas carries out serious security and political reforms, his authority will be subject to the wrath of the Palestinian people," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in the Gaza Strip.

PUBLIC CRITICISM

Although several anti-Abbas protests bubbled up in the West Bank after the upheaval began in Egypt on January 25, he has not faced large-scale demonstrations in the territory, whose economy has strengthened significantly in recent years.

However, 75-year-old Abbas has faced public criticism over the functioning of his government. Of the 24 posts in the outgoing administration, only 16 were staffed. Two ministers resigned and six are marooned in Gaza.

Abbas said the new cabinet should focus on "strengthening the preparedness of the national institutions for the establishment of the state of independent Palestine," according to the official news agency WAFA.

On Saturday the Palestinian Authority said it would call legislative and presidential elections by September.

The last election was in 2006, when Hamas won a majority in the parliament. It shared power with Abbas, but relations rapidly soured and the following year, the Islamists seized control of Gaza, leaving the PA in charge of the West Bank.

(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, Editing by Maria Golovnina)

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