Why did Hamas boycott the 1996 Palestinian Authority elections?

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Oslo Accords: Declaration of Principles on Palestinian Self-Rule — Palestinian Authority U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton (center) looking on as Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (left) shakes hands with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat after the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Palestinian Self-Rule, September 1993.

Hamas boycotted the 1996 Palestinian Authority (PA) elections primarily due to its fundamental opposition to the Oslo Accords, the series of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that established the PA and provided for limited Palestinian self-governance.12

At the time, Hamas rejected the peace process and any negotiations that would cede land to Israel, viewing the PA as a product of an agreement it fundamentally opposed. Consequently, the group maintained a policy of violent opposition to the peace process and refused to participate in the political institutions created by the accords. It was not until 2006 that Hamas shifted its strategy and participated in the Palestinian legislative elections.34152