Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' April 29 postponement of the legislative elections scheduled for May 22 came as a shock to Palestinians. Several Palestinian factions condemned Abbas for making his unilateral decision without consulting with them.
Al-Monitor's sources say that the Palestinian factions are considering their options to respond to Abbas’ decision. A number of them — including the Hamas movement, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the two Fatah lists led by imprisoned leader Marwan Barghouti and dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, as well as the independents — had boycotted the Palestinian presidential meeting in Ramallah on April 29 at which Abbas made the announcement.
