More than 15 years after the Palestinians held their last presidential and legislative elections, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday issued a decree calling for fresh votes to be held this year. His four-year-term as president ended in 2009, but the rift between the PA and Hamas — when the latter took over the Gaza Strip in 2007 — prevented the holding of new elections. In the 2006 legislative elections, Hamas won a majority and Abbas was forced to name Ismail Haniyeh as prime minister. That government was short-lived and its collapse led to Hamas’ bloody coup in Gaza. Since then, multiple initiatives aimed at ending the intra-Palestinian rift have been unsuccessful. With a crippled legislature, Abbas emerged as an authoritarian ruler and was able to sidestep Palestinian democratic institutions. A majority of Palestinians are skeptical of the upcoming elections. A survey conducted in December found that 52 percent of those polled believed that the elections would be neither free nor fair, while 76 percent said Fatah, the largest of the Palestinian factions, would not accept the outcome if Hamas emerged as the winner. A number of Palestinian factions said that elections should not be held until reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas has been concluded. Hamas has welcomed Abbas’ decree, but with reservations. The legislative elections will be held in May, while the presidential poll will take place at the end of July, followed by elections for the Palestinian National Council in August. Meanwhile, inter-factional dialogue continues with little progress under Egyptian and Turkish auspices. Hamas and Fatah have reached multiple understandings in the past but failed to implement them. The rift has weakened the Palestinian position both regionally and internationally. Hamas also runs the beleaguered Gaza Strip uncontested and has refused to allow the PA to return. Abbas, 85, remains the only candidate for president despite calls to allow younger faces to take over. Analysts believe the upcoming elections, if they are held on time, are meant to renew Abbas’ legitimacy while there is a new US administration in office. Hamas is also under pressure, especially as Israel’s blockade of Gaza is taking its toll on the Strip’s population. The coronavirus epidemic has added to Gaza’s woes. While the UN and EU have welcomed Abbas’ announcement and called on Israel to facilitate the holding of the elections, it is doubtful that the occupying authority will allow polls to take place in East Jerusalem. In 2006, Palestinians in East Jerusalem were allowed to vote. Another challenge lies in dealing with a government or legislature that includes Hamas members. The US, Israel and most EU members have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. Regardless of the outcome of the elections, Hamas is unlikely to give up its control of Gaza. Still, the elections come at a crucial moment for the region. Under President Donald Trump, the Palestinians suffered major political and economic losses, beginning with the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and ending with the normalization agreements struck between Israel and a number of Arab countries. The expansion of illegal settlement activities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank during the last four years has also been astronomical. For the Palestinians to restore a semblance of regional and international support, they must achieve genuine reconciliation and unity. Osama Al-Sharif While President-elect Joe Biden has committed himself to reviving the two-state solution, he is unlikely to launch a new initiative in the first few months of his term. But his administration will at least restore political and economic ties with the Palestinians and call on Israel to resume peace negotiations. Realistically, the implementation of the classical two-state solution will prove improbable and there may be a return to Trump’s proposed peace plan as a starting point. Abbas has to understand that the geopolitical stage has changed dramatically since 2016 and that, for the Palestinians to restore a semblance of regional and international support, they must achieve genuine reconciliation and unity. The elections provide a challenge that could deliver both, but they could also deepen existing divisions. Two countries that have a vested interest in uniting the Palestinians are Jordan and Egypt. On Sunday, Abbas was visited by the heads of both countries’ intelligence agencies, apparently to urge him to make serious moves toward Palestinian reconciliation ahead of the elections. But Abbas must also commit to initiating the wholesale reforms that are needed to restore confidence in the PA, especially among the Palestinians themselves. If the elections are held, they must be free, with international observers overseeing the process. The fact that Abbas will run uncontested may prove problematic, while a failure to achieve reconciliation before the elections could deliver a situation where the current stalemate drags on for years to come. Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. Twitter: @plato010 Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News" point-of-view