**The Islamist movement Hamas has told Palestinians in the Gaza Strip not to take part in elections called by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.**The Hamas interior ministry said elections planned for January had been called without the agreement of Hamas and other factions and were illegal.
It said anyone in Gaza co-operating with the poll will be “dealt with by the ministry or by other means”.
Hamas drove Mr Abbas’s Fatah party out of Gaza in 2007.
The two factions remain bitter rivals.
January’s proposed parliamentary and presidential vote would mark the end of the four-year term of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Mr Abbas’s presidential term expired earlier this year but he has continued in the absence of elections.
‘Illegal action’
“The government in the Gaza Strip rejects the principle of holding elections in the Gaza Strip because it comes without an agreement and was announced by a president whose presidency has ended its term,” said the interior ministry statement.
Spokesman Ehab Al-Ghsain added: “Any preparations, any committees, any collecting of names will be regarded as an illegal action that we will pursue.”
Hamas also said it would not permit the Central Election Commission (CEC) - which has five offices in Gaza - to operate in the enclave.
The 2006 elections saw Hamas triumph over Fatah and the two groups formed a unity government. However, a subsequent power struggle led to the government’s collapse and Hamas seized control of Gaza.
Fatah still dominates Palestinian political life in the West Bank.
Egypt has recently tried to broker a unity deal between the two factions.
Hamas has so far refused to sign up to Egyptian plans accepted by Fatah, though Hamas officials have denied stalling an agreement.