The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) warned Saturday that if the Palestinian mainstream Fatah movement postponed the legislative elections slated for July 17, the calmness period would be over.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told reporters that if the election was postponed, "that will contradict what we have agreed upon at the inter-Palestinian dialogue held in Cairo, Egypt on March 17."

Various Palestinian groups and factions agreed at the meeting to extend a calmness period to the end of the year with Israel.

"Postponing the legislative elections will of course compel the movement to re-evaluate its stance toward the calmness period," said Abu Zuhri.

Fatah led by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is weighing a delay of the parliamentary elections since the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) has not agreed on the new elections law.

If the PLC fails to pass the new bill by Sunday, a postponement is inevitable since the Palestinian law regulates the parliament has to pass the bill three months before the election day.

However, sources within Fatah revealed the ulterior reason for the delay was that Fatah feared it would be outperformed by Hamas, whose popularity among ordinary Palestinians has witnessed a surge in recent months.

Hamas put up a strong showing in the latest municipal elections by winning 20 out of 36 municipal councils in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Abu Zuhri also accused both Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) of not showing commitment to the calmness, saying Israel is violating truce while the PNA is trying to delay Palestinian legislative elections.

Hamas, a radical militant group sworn to Israel's destruction, has spearheaded efforts to fight Israel since the Palestinian intifada (uprising) erupted in September 2000.

However, it softened its stance recently by announcing willingness to participate in the legislative elections, the first of which it boycotted in 1996.

Source: Xinhua