Israeli newspaper Haaretz said that the cabinet would discuss the request made by the Palestinian Authority to hold elections in the areas of Eastern Jerusalem.
According to the website, Israel has officially received the Palestinian request and would discuss it extensively during its cabinet meeting.
The Palestinians submitted a request to Israel in order to allow the residents of East Jerusalem to participate and run in the upcoming elections, as was done in the legislative elections held in 1996 and 2006.
The Palestinians also addressed the European Union and other countries in order to pressure Israel on this matter.
The secretary of the PLO’s Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat, said that the Authority formally requested that the elections be held in Jerusalem, as was the case with previous elections.
Erekat stressed that Israel must agree to this according to the signed agreements, and based on previous Israeli stances and decisions.
“Israel doesn’t have the right to prevent the 400,000 Palestinians who live in Jerusalem from participating in the general elections,” he said.
He called on the European Union countries and the international community to put pressure on Israel to prevent it from obstructing the elections in Jerusalem.
But, on the other hand, Erekat said that Israeli recent positions were not encouraging.
“The Israeli positions are not promising; the most recent of which are attempts to suppress and prevent cultural activities. Israel ignores the facts, and those who ignore the truth do not live by reality. But they will not be able to change the fact that there are 400,000 Palestinian Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem,” he affirmed.
