Palestinian Authority Sets Legislative Elections for Jan. 25

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip will vote Jan. 25 in the first legislative elections since 1996, setting up a showdown with the militant Hamas organization.
The contest will pit Abbas's Fatah party, which controls three-quarters of the seats on the current 83-member Legislative Council, against Hamas, which boycotted the first election 9 years ago after Palestinians won limited control from Israel over the West and Gaza. Both Israel and the U.S. consider Hamas a terrorist organization that is responsible for hundreds of suicide bombings.