BICOM

What happened: Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas political chief Ismael Haniyeh have visiting regional allies with Abbas meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Haniyeh traveling to Qatar to meet with Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday.

• Abbas had recently met with the Qatari emir as well, while Haniyeh concluded a week-long visit to Turkey where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
• Dominating the discussions for both Palestinian leaders was the prospect of holding Palestinian legislative elections for the first time since 2006. Haniyeh also pressed his case for further aid to the Gaza Strip.
• Haniyeh was joined on his trip to Doha by Salah al-Arouri, Hamas’s external military leader wanted by Israel for multiple terrorist attacks in the West Bank. Al-Arouri is based in Turkey.
• Meeting on the sidelines of the World Youth Forum in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh, Sisi, 65, and Abbas, 84, highlighted Arab support for the Palestinian position, including a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as the future capital of Palestine.

Context: Palestinian politics has been rife with speculation about elections. Abbas first raised the possibility at the United Nations in September.

• Hamas and the Fatah movement – split geographically and politically between Gaza and the West Bank, respectively – have been in talks over the conditions of any future vote for the last several weeks.
• Crucially, Hamas relented on the demand to hold both legislative and presidential elections at the same time. The last presidential election, which Abbas won, was held in 2005.
• It is believed that Qatar and other members of the international community, especially Europe, are pushing for elections as a means to move forward with a broader Palestinian reconciliation process.
• However, yesterday senior Palestinian Authority officials close to Abbas said that no election would take place if Israel did not allow East Jerusalem Palestinians to take part, calling the holy city a “red line.” Israel is unlikely to grant such a request, allowing the PA a ready excuse to delay the election.

Looking ahead: Regional diplomacy and internal politics aside, both the PA and Hamas are mired in ongoing negotiations with Israel.

• The Israel Electric Corporation announced yesterday that it would begin limiting electricity provision to the West Bank due to ongoing non-payment by the PA. Cuts in supply will likely rise to three hours a day (as opposed to the two previously), due to an estimated NIS 1.7 billion debt.
• Negotiations between Hamas and Israel over a long-term ceasefire in Gaza have reportedly stalled due to the Israeli political impasse and sharp differences over the terms of a possible prisoner swap. Israeli authorities are also denying entry permits to 500 Gazan Christians to visit Jerusalem and Bethlehem for the Christmas holiday, a reversal in policy from past years.
• Haniyeh is set to continue on his foreign travels, with Russia, Lebanon, Mauritania, and Kuwait reportedly his next stops.