Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has set May 4 as the date for general elections that are meant to end the division between Hamas and Fatah.
The Palestinians have been divided between two governments since Hamas militants overran the Gaza Strip in 2007. Hamas controls Gaza, while Abbas’ Palestinian Authority governs in the West Bank.
Abbas says a unity government of technocrats, chosen from both factions, will be formed to prepare for the elections. He spoke Monday in Vienna after meeting with Austrian President Heinz Fischer.
Fischer announced that Austria was upgrading the status of the Palestinian diplomatic representation. Now a PLO mission, it will be upgrade to a mission of the Palestinian Authority and be headed by an ambassador.