Battle of Gaza (2007) were boycotted by both Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The election resulted in PLO and Fatah chairman Mahmoud Abbas being elected President to a four-year term. On 8 February 2005 the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced a cease-fire. On 17 March 2005 Hamas endorsed the ceasefire. On 19 March 2005 twelve Palestinian factions, including Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) signed the Palestinian Cairo Declaration, which reaffirmed the status of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate
Sufian Abu Zaida Zayda served as a member of the Palestinian delegation responsible for negotiations regarding the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. Abu Zaida is a senior leader in Fatah and was a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council until May 31st, 2014, when he was removed from the movement because of his public criticism of President Abbas' way of rule. Dr. Abu Zaida stated in many occasions that there is lack of Separation of powers and that President Abbas took to himself too much power. Furthermore, Abu Zaida claims there is a lack of minimal democratic rights in Palestine