Hamas holds back election calls

GAZA: The Hamas movement postponed on Tuesday handing over its positive written response to President Mahmoud Abbas’ calls on holding the parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories.
Hamas leaders met on Tuesday in Gaza with Hanna Nasser, chairman of the Central Elections Commission (CEC), where Hamas was scheduled to hand over Nasser a written letter addressed to President Abbas.
The postponement came in protest to repressing a rally held in Ramallah in support of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails by the Palestinian Authority police, according to Sallah all-Bardaweel, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sami Abu Diak, a Palestinian prisoner, who suffered from cancer, died in jail. His death has largely outraged the Palestinians who accused Israel of depriving the Palestinian prisoners of medical treatment. Nasser and a CEC delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip on Monday and planned to meet the Hamas leaders to get a written response from the movement on holding the parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories.–Agencies