Efforts to end the ongoing power struggle between Hamas and Fatah have reached a deadlock due to disagreements over several issues, including the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections, Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip said Monday, July 9, The Jerusalem Post reported. Despite the talk about an impasse, however, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was quoted as saying that he was optimistic about the prospects of ending the rivalry with Fatah. The contradictory statements are a sign of divisions among the Hamas leadership over the reconciliation process with Fatah. Last week, Hamas abruptly decided to suspend the work of the Palestinian Elections Commission in the Gaza Strip, dealing a severe blow to reconciliation efforts. Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas official in Gaza who is strongly opposed to Mashaal’s rapprochement with Fatah, has called the elections “a big deception.”