Palestinian Elections Slated for May 2012

During a recent meeting in Cairo, Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Meshaal, the leaders of Fatah and Hamas, set a timetable for Palestinian national elections. The elections are slated to take place May 4, 2012, in a bid to help “end the division between Hamas and Fatah.” The Jerusalem Post reports that there are certain stumbling blocks between the two that must be overcome, such as the reconstruction of the Palestinian Authority security forces and whether or not Hamas had agreed to “suspend the armed struggle against Israel.” Both sides also pledged to “resolve the issue of political prisoners “within days” and said they would put together a temporary cabinet of independents, to be agreed upon next month.”