Protests in the Palestinian Territories 2011/2012
On February 4, 2011, the first major solidarity demonstrations by Palestinians with the Egyptian demonstrators took place. The demonstrations are part of the Arab Spring . However, these were largely restricted to the Gaza Strip . Similar events had already been violently broken up and several participants were arrested the days before. On February 8, the Palestinian Authority surprisingly announced local elections for July 9. These had been overdue for a year. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, immediately announced an election boycott.
chronology
On February 14, 2011, the Palestinian government headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad resigned. President Mahmud Abbas had pushed for this step in order to achieve a replacement of several ministerial posts. Abbas tasked Fayyad with forming a new government. The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization also decided to hold presidential and parliamentary elections by the end of September at the latest. From today's perspective, however, the elections are likely to be limited to the West Bank without East Jerusalem. Fayyad took an unusual step in forming a government and wrote on his Facebook page that suggestions should be made to him. “ Who do you think is trustworthy, well educated, and equipped with leadership skills to be entrusted with a ministry? Please state the name and the office, ”read the post. Within a few hours he had received 700 comments.
On April 27, 2011 it was announced that the previously hostile organizations Hamas and Fatah had agreed to form a unity government and a date for elections. A few days later they signed a reconciliation agreement. According to the Hamas Politburo member Ezzat al-Rishq, the change of power in Egypt has favored reconciliation. However, the unity government was not formed, nor were presidential or parliamentary elections held.
