Abbas Adamant About Rejecting Elections Without Jerusalem
Arab World
Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated that the Palestinian elections won’t be held without Jerusalem. The official PA news site Wafa quoted him as saying that "we won't hold any elections without having Jerusalem as part of it." Abbas also declined to issue a presidential decree on setting dates for holding legislative and presidential elections in the Palestinian territories before getting Israel's approval to include East Jerusalem in the voting. He criticized the ongoing talks for the sake of de-escalation between Israel and Gaza – the PA said lately that Israel won’t be granted the option to ‘impose the status-quo policy’ regarding holding Palestinian elections in East Jerusalem. Hamas demands Abbas to issue a decree determining the elections’ date without awaiting the Israeli approval – it urged transforming the elections in Jerusalem into a ‘popular and political clash’ with Israel. In 2006, public elections were held and Hamas won a parliamentary majority. A year earlier, Abbas became a president for a four-year term. It is anticipated that holding the elections would end the internal Palestinian division that has been ongoing since 2007 when Hamas seized Gaza Strip by force.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2059991/abbas-adamant-about-rejecting-elections-without-jerusalem
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