RAMALLAH (West Bank), Aug 15: Palestinian parliamentary elections, the first to be contested by the Islamic militant group Hamas, will be held on Jan 21, a senior Palestinian official said on Monday.

Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the date had been agreed a week after President Mahmoud Abbas said the delayed legislative elections would be held in January.

The election had been set for July 17 but Abbas put it off, saying he had to resolve a dispute over voting reforms. Hamas accused him of stalling for time to weed out Fatah corruption in the hope of staving off heavy losses.

“President Abbas has decided ... elections will be held on Jan. 21. He will sign a decree setting the date as soon as the amended election law is published in the official gazette and this could be as early as tomorrow,” Erekat told Reuters.

Abbas has come under domestic and international pressure to set the date for elections in order to strengthen democratic reforms seen as critical to future peacemaking with Israel.

A decision could also help deflect accusations from Hamas that he is trying to deny the group a share of power.

Abbas’s Fatah movement runs the Palestinian Authority, but has suffered from graft, mismanagement and a loss of control over its armed factions.

Helped by Fatah’s woes, Hamas made a strong showing in recent municipal voting, the first participation in elections by the Muslim group that has been at the forefront of an uprising since 2000.

Hamas expects about a third of the next parliamentary vote.

Fatah’s faltering grip has raised fear of turmoil in the Gaza Strip after Israel’s pullout of settlers from the occupied territory, which began this week and is to be completed next month.

Hamas said Abbas, in delaying the parliamentary vote, broke a promise made to obtain the commitment of militant factions to his February ceasefire deal with Israel.

Reacting to Monday’s announcement, senior official Sami Abu Zuhri said Hamas still demanded elections as soon as possible.

“It has reservations on the delay but will nevertheless participate,” he said.

Israel has ruled out embarking on a US-devised “road map” peace process toward a Palestinian state until Palestinian leaders subdue armed factions and impose law and order.

But Abbas is keen to bring Islamic militants into mainstream politics to give them a stake in peace talks, although they remain sworn to destroying the Jewish state.

The only other Palestinian parliamentary election was in 1996. There were previous postponements after the Palestinian uprising which drew Israeli military crackdowns.—Reuters