Palestine marks first legislative elections in almost two decades

Hamas announces that it will hand over the government of the Gaza Strip The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, signed this Thursday (9) a decree calling for legislative elections for November 28. ? Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp The announcement comes three days after the terrorist group Hamas announced its departure from the government of the Gaza Strip. If held, the elections would be the first of their kind in almost two decades. "The presidential decree calls on the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to participate in free and direct legislative elections to choose members of the Palestinian Legislative Council on the established date," the official Wafa news agency reported, citing the text of the decree. Mahmoud Abbas, President of Palestine, on November 23, 2021 Evgeny Biyatov/Reuters On Monday (6), Hamas announced the dissolution of the body that governed the Gaza Strip, maintained by the group for almost two decades, at a press conference. The head of government linked to the group, Mohammed al-Farra, resigned from his position and his departure paved the way for a Palestinian technocratic committee to implement civilian government in the territory. ? The Gaza Strip has been administered by the terrorist group since 2007, when Hamas took power after clashes with Fatah, the party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, based in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian sitting on top of the rubble of a house hit by an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. Mahmoud Issa / Reuters According to Ismail Thawabta, director general of the Hamas-run media office in Gaza, the measure was taken "to alleviate the suffering resulting from the ongoing war, the delay in reconstruction, the ongoing siege, the closure of border crossings and the refusal of the Israeli Army to withdraw." In a separate statement, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the move aims to eliminate pretexts for Israeli interference and reaffirmed the group's commitment to transferring all governance responsibilities in Gaza. The future of Gaza after the war ceasefire