New Palestinian political body aims to rival Abbas, Hamas

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — 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” at a news conference on Thursday, with the stated aim of challenging the two main Palestinian political parties.
Leaders said they would work toward holding pres