RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The Palestinian Authority will call early elections on the West Bank and Gaza Strip following the breakdown of talks with Hamas, its chairman said Saturday.
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the breakdown was over the formation of a government to replace a Hamas-led coalition boycotted by the West, The Jerusalem Post reported.
He did not say when the vote would take place. But aides said the election would likely be held as early as March, the Post said.
Though Hamas controls much of the government, Abbas is a member of the rival Fatah.
At the end of the meeting, the committee recommended Abbas dismiss the Hamas-led government and call early elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council and the presidency of the Palestinian Authority.
As the meeting was under way, hundreds of Palestinian Authority security officers and Fatah gunmen went on a rampage in various parts of the Gaza Strip, demanding unpaid salaries and calling for the replacement of the government, the Post said.
