Palestinian political factions Fatah and Hamas said on Thursday that they had agreed to hold general Palestinian elections within the next six months, following reconciliation talks in Istanbul.
The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority controls the West Bank, while the Hamas terror group rules the Gaza Strip.
If the election takes place it would be the first Palestinian national election in fourteen years.
Similar announcements of planned elections have fallen through in the past, largely due to long-running conflict between the two political movements.
Fatah Secretary General Jibril Rajoub, who led Fatah’s delegation to the Turkish capital, said in a statement that the proposal would be submitted to a joint meeting of Palestinian faction heads within a week.
Palestinian legislative elections were last held in 2006, when a Hamas victory over Fatah led to a bloody conflict for control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas expelled Fatah to the West Bank in 2007 in a violent coup, after which the Palestinian Legislative Council essentially ceased to function.
