SHIN BET: FATAH CAN'T WIN ELECTION V. HAMAS

Shin Bet: Fatah Has No Chance of Winning PA Elections - Gideon Alon (Ha'aretz)
Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Yuval Diskin told the Israeli cabinet Sunday that Fatah's chances of winning elections in the Palestinian Authority would be close to zero. He said the Fatah faction is in bad shape, and Israel should expect Hamas to register a sweeping victory in any election.

Diskin said the ongoing rocket fire is being carried out by the Islamic Jihad, not Hamas.
Asked whether Hamas has the ability to impose a halt to the rocket fire, Diskin responded that from a military standpoint Hamas is strong enough, but from an ideological standpoint it will not act against the activities of another terrorist organization.

See also Hamas Leader Mashaal: PA Elections Will Not Take Place (AP/Asharq Al-Awsat-UK)
Hamas supreme leader Khaled Mashaal vowed Saturday that PA elections will not take place. "Is it possible to speak of early elections, and the (previous) elections are still fresh? Is it possible to violate the law and the constitution?" he told Al-Jazeera. "Any step that violates the law will not be (allowed)."