Palestinians set up rival party to Fatah, Hamas

Five Palestinian factions are forming a new political body in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in an attempt to break the political duopoly of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement and the Islamic movement Hamas.

The factions announced the formation of The Democratic Caucus yesterday, with the stated aim of challenging the two main Palestinian political parties.

Leaders said they would work towards holding presidential and parliamentary elections, and protecting human rights in the Palestinian territories.

Palestinian elections were last held in 2006 and have been indefinitely postponed due to political discord between Fatah and Hamas.

Read the article in The Australian (AP).