Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Saturday he is calling new presidential and parliament elections at the earliest possible date, and the Hamas government quickly denounced Abbas’ decision as “coup” against the will of the Palestinian people. Hamas leaders, including Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar, called on Abbas to resign.

Abbas’ dramatic announcement—made after he despaired of persuading Hamas to form a more moderate coalition government with his own Fatah Party— further hardened the lines between the two political rivals, at a time when factional fighting is threatening to spin out into civil war.

Abbas’s call represents a big political gamble. The polls could be deprived of legitimacy in the face of a Hamas boycott, and if Abbas does not run again— he has said he’d not seek another term—the moderate camp in Palestinian politics would not have a strong candidate, and could easily lose the presidential vote.

Aides said the vote would be held as early as March, and that a date would be set within a week. “The Palestinian government rejects this call for early elections and considers it a coup against Palestinian legitimacy and the will of the Palestinian people,” the Hamas government said in a statement. A Hamas legislator, Mushir al-Masri, said Hamas considers early elections illegal.

But Ahmed Yousef, a top adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, said the ruling group would protest the election call by peaceful means.

Abbas’ speech dashed any hope for a coalition government, he added. “Such a government needs a miracle after what President Abbas said today,” Yousef said.

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