Fatah–Hamas Mecca Agreement agreement was signed in Doha in 2012, ratified by May 2012 Cairo agreement, both yet failing to promote joint elections. With the boycott of the Hamas, the Palestinian local elections of 2012 took place in October, without participation of Gazan residents. Fatah–Hamas Mecca Agreement The Fatah–Hamas Mecca Agreement was signed between Fatah and Hamas in the city of Mecca on 8 February 2007, agreeing to stop the internal military confrontations in the Gaza Strip and form a government of national unity. Representatives from the Fatah side included the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and parliament member Mohammed Dahlan.
Fatah Salah Abdel-Shafi told the BBC about the difficulties of Fatah leadership: "I think it's very, very seriousit's becoming obvious that they can't agree on anything." Fatah is "widely seen as being in desperate need of reform," as "the PA's performance has been a story of corruption and incompetenceand Fatah has been tainted." In December 2005, jailed Intifada leader Marwan Barghouti broke ranks with the party and announced that he had formed a new political list to run in the elections called the "al-Mustaqbal" ("The Future"), mainly composed of members of Fatah's "Young Guard." These younger leaders have repeatedly expressed frustration