Palestinian elections could prove promising or impossible

It's hard to tell whether Palestinian elections will help heal the Hamas-Fatah divide, as some people hope, or if the divide will prevent elections from even happening.
Palestinians march in the streets of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, calling for the cessation of divisions between Fatah and Hamas and the unification of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, on January 12, 2019. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI / AFP) (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)
Palestinians march in the streets, calling for the cessation of divisions between Fatah and Hamas and the unification of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Ramallah, West Bank, Jan. 12, 2019. - ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images
Ahmad Abu Amer.jpg
Ahmad Abu Amer
@ahmedmajd1
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Many Palestinian journalists, nongovernmental organizations and members of the public concur that holding comprehensive elections — for the presidency and legislature at the same time, and in all the territories — is the best remedy for the 12-year-long Palestinian divide, after all attempts to end the Fatah-Hamas split have failed.

But many people, mostly Fatah members and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, don't agree. As could be expected, reaching a consensus seems only a distant possibility at this point.

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